The Harbinger's
by Keyote
Summary: A girl named Beth learns she is a prophet with the power to see the end of the world. This had made her a target for many supernatural forces. But her protector himself has his own dark secret to tell. An original story by Azure Poe 21 & published by me.
1. The Prophet

This fan fic is based on an original story

created by Azure Poe 21.

The story is written

Azure Poe 21 with help from Keyote

This story is released on

by Keyote with permission from Azure Poe 21

A Rhine Realm production...

**{I}**

_I thought that day was going to be a great day._

_The sun was out and shining brightly. The temperature was fair, neither to hot or to cold._

_Me and my twenty seven fellow classmates, along with our teacher and the vice principle of our school, would be heading to the newly opened space observatory just outside of town for a field trip._

_Yeah, that day was looking like it would be a great day._

_Except, it would end up being a nightmare for all of us._

_It was also in this same week that a man who was the leader of a notorious gang that had made their way into the area several months back was to be executed, a few days after the field trip was to happen. However, his loyal followers had other ideas._

_They had decided to take hostages in order to barter for the release of their leader. Failing to do so would result in the death of the hostages. The group had looked around, trying to find the perfect victims to do this with._

_They considered a bank, a bakery, even a hospital. But when one of their own read about the field trip in the local paper, they decided to use us as their hostages for the negotiation. After all, what better way to insure they got what they wanted to to use little kids._

_Once they had learned of the time we'd be getting there and on what day, they went to a great deal of trouble to make the arrangements to pull this off. That's why on the day in question, approximately twenty minutes after we had arrived, they arrived and made their move._

_They found us thirty student's there along with our chaperones rather quickly once inside. It didn't take long for these twelve men to tie us up and make the call. When the police found out about this, they wasted no time in coming to the observatory to try and stop rescue us hostages._

_The national guard was also called in to help, but the gangs second in command made it very clear that they wouldn't hesitate to kill us if they didn't comply with their demands. And their demands were simple. The release of their leader and an armored car in which to escape in._

_Naturally, the cops and national guard were complying with the demand, or at least making them think they were, while trying to find a way to save us with out letting these men or their leader go._

_But saving us wouldn't be easy. With only three doors that led into the observatory being guarded by two men each and the rest watching us with guns held at the ready, things weren't looking to good. And the men were getting more impatient and angry by the delay's that seem to be coming in._

_Meanwhile, outside saw some odd and interesting things going on. As the national guard worked on some sort of strategy and the police were forced to make the arrangements for both the armored car and the release of the gang leader, only a few noticed the gathering storm clouds that seemed to be gathering over the observatory._

_It was strange in that the dark clouds seemed to be spiraling around the observatory. But this didn't matter much to the head of the task force as he talked to the second in command of the group. He threatened to start killing the kids one by one if they didn't have what they wanted with in the hour._

_It was then that noise was heard in the back ground. The man in charge of the task force gathered that something was wrong. The one over the phone then said that it looked as if one of the kids was sick and he wasn't looking to good. The man then ordered one of his fellow gang members to check on the kid._

_For just a moment, there was silence, then there was a sound heard from across the phone line. The sound of some one being sent flying and hitting the ground hard was heard. The second in command was yelling something, and then...shots were heard from both the phone and outside._

_Had someone made a move with out authorization?_

_The head of the task force didn't know, but this couldn't be ignored. He ordered his men to storm the observatory and take those men out. And it was then he saw it. The dark clouds that had been spinning around over the observatory had opened up. For a second, there was silence..._

_And then, a bolt of lightning shot from the opening and hit the side of the observatory._

_The loud explosion shook the ground and forced man of the men to cover their ears. The horror of what had happened sent chills down everyone spines. Had any of the hostage's been hurt? Had any been killed? All they could see was smoke and flying debris coming from the spot that had been hit._

_And then, a body came flying out. It was the second in commands body. He landed on the ground on his stomach. As cops ran up, they could see his exposed back had been burned, likely by the lightning. But, as they turned him over, they realized that he was truly dead and that it wasn't the lightning that had killed him._

_No, it was the deep and blood gash in his chest, running from his shoulder to his waist that had killed him. They wondered what the hell could have happened to cause this. As the men looked to the observatory, they saw the smoke began to clear and a figure began to emerge from the smoke._

_Based on the size of the figure, they figured it was one of the 3rd graders. But, something was wrong. As the figure became more see-able, reality began to set in. As one of the men stood up, all he could utter at what he was seeing was "My...god..."_

_It was on that day...the end of the world began. But, in a strange way..._

_It was the beginning of my life as I would come to know it..._

**THE HARBINGER'S**

**tome 1: The Prophet**

The sound of the alarm going off was the first thing that made Beth realize that she was awake. At first, she tried to ignore it as she buried her face deeper into her comfy pillow. However, the sound only got louder instead of softer, making her grumble in complaint as she groggily reach out from under the covers to turn the alarm off.

Her opened hand flayed all over the place as she sloppily felt for the alarm. She groaned in annoyance when her hand hit against the table next to her bed a little harder than she liked. But finally, she found her target and after several quick moments of feeling around, she found the snooze button and turned the alarm off.

Sighing contently, she snuggled back into her pillow and found the blissful realm of sleep slowly coming back to her when another sound was heard, this one even more annoying than the alarm. This sound was the sound of some one knocking on her door.

"Hey Beth, you awake yet? Beth?" came the voice from the other side of the door.

Beth grumbled again as she curled further into the covers, doing her best to ignore that voice and the knocking. But, both refused to cease and finally, she gave up on getting any more shut eye as she finally sat up and looked to the door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she did so.

"Yeah, I'm up Whitney No thanks to my alarm and your nagging" said Beth, her annoyance in her voice being fairly obvious.

"Well, you better hurry and get dressed, miss sleepy head. We don't have much time till classes start ya know" said Whitney before the sound of her foot steps were heard walking away.

"Yeah yeah, I know" said Beth as she looked to her clock. For a moment, she looked at it dumbfounded before the time finally registered in her head.

"Oh crap, it's already that late?" she shouts as she throws the covers off, jumps out of bed and makes a quick beeline for her bathroom. She didn't have much time to bathe and get ready for classes. And their teacher wasn't nice about tardiness from her students, no matter the excuse.

Twenty minutes later, Beth's door opened as she ran out. She just stopped long enough to lock up afterwords before continuing down the hall towards the stairs. With in minutes, she was outside and making for the main building as quickly as her legs could carry her.

_Confused about where Beth is even at? You see, Beth was a student at St. Claire's, a religious school located in Salem, Massachusetts This was a special school, complete with its own dormitory for it's students to live in. It was something of an everything kind of school as it catered to Elementary, Junior High, and High School aged students. And it was a rather big place too._

As Beth neared the main building, she noticed her friends Eliza and Whitney beginning to walk inside. Eliza was a little more plump than the other girls do to her obsessive love of sweets, but she was still considered a looker by many of the guys who loved there. Probably because she was a little more developed than the average 15 or 16 year old girl in the chest area.

Whitney, on the other hand, despite being 15, still looked about ten do to her height and eternally flat chest. She didn't seem to mind though as she hated perverts and felt most guys in their age group only wanted one thing from girls. And Beth couldn't help but think she was right, given the guys they knew.

As for Beth herself, she was considered about average in every way. Her long hair reached down to the small of her back and was usually kept in a pony tail. Her slightly tanned skin went well with her personality just as Eliza's chocolate black skin went with her's and Whitney's more pale complexion suited her rather well.

"Hey, 'bout time you got up. So, what kept you sleeping over time this morning?" asked Eliza as the three girls began to walk together.

"Yeah, I know. Well, I guess you could say..." started Beth, but Whitney interrupted her.

"Having that "end of the world dream" again, I bet"

Beth looked at her, then smiled and said "Bingo. I wouldn't mind it so much if I would actually be shown something new every once in a while instead of the same thing over and over and over again. When you see the Four Horsemen all the time, it gets rather old"

"Sucks to be you, Bethany" said Eliza.

"Hey guys" came a voice from their right. The three girls stop and see Carlos, a dark haired guy walking towards them with his usual dopey look about him.

"What's up? Find any alien conspiracy theories on the web last night?" asked Whitney.

"Nah, to busy watching subtitled anime from Japan" said Carlos, who was a major anime otaku and was made fun of by many of the students for it, not that he cared.

"So, why are you all excited for? Find out there's gonna be a new series in the Dragon Ball storyline?" asked Beth.

"I wish. No, I just heard our class is getting that new transfer student from Rome today" said Carlos excitedly.

"Are class is? Wow, that's pretty cool. Wait, why are you excited about it? I heard the new kid is a guy. You're not secretly gay by any chance, are you?" asked Eliza.

"WHAT? Of course not, the only gay that I am is the happy kind. And as for why I'm excited? I heard he may be an otaku like me. Just think, I'm finally not going to be alone in my obsession here" said Carlos in a jubilant tone.

"How exciting for you. Well, I guess we better hurry to class so we can actually find out" said Whitney.

The others nodded in agreement as they continued walking. The prospect of a new friend was more than reason enough to make this day a little more interesting for them. And for Beth specifically, a new chance at finding a normal, decent guy she could like in a way that wasn't just friend based.

Soon enough, they had arrived in class and had taken their seats along with the other student's. And as always, their teacher would enter the room right as the bell rang. Her name was Nyasa Muldoon, a fifty nine year old women who was known for her punctuality and her quick wit.

Especially when she was punishing any who were tardy for her class.

As she took her usual place standing by her desk, she carefully looked over her class, making sure everyone was there. Satisfied, she reached up and adjusted her glasses before speaking loud enough so the whole class could hear her.

"Now, listen up and listen well. As you all know, a new transfer student all the way from Rome, Italy has arrived to be attending school here with us. I'm not sure if this is a permanent stay or just temporary, but I expect each and everyone of you to make sure he feels welcomed and do what you can to assist him if he needs any help. Is that understood?"

Seeing her class nod made her crack the slightest of smiles before turning to the door.

"You may enter now, Mr. Crowswell" said Muldoon.

The door opened and a boy of fifteen entered the room. He was already dressed in the typical attire of the school. A white, button up-ed shirt with a blue tie. Black pants and a blue vest. He had a light brown hair color and hazel colored eyes. He came to a stop beside Muldoon, who continued her speech.

"This is Benjamin Crowswell. If you have any question's for him, ask them now so we can continue with today's lessons" said Muldoon as she took a seat at her desk.

"His name is Crows well? I guess that he must caw all over the place" said a boy a few rows behind Beth. She rolled her eyes and was reminded again why she didn't like most of the guys here at the school.

Of course, Muldoon was very good at hearing things in her class and had already grabbed an eraser and, with perfect aim and throwing speed, sent the eraser flying right at and hitting the smart mouth student on the forehead.

"I see someone here is looking for a little extra work from my class. That can be arranged" she said as she glared at the student.

"Um, yes ma'am" he said quickly before looking away, dreading what she was going to do to him after class.

Ben, meanwhile, made a mental note not to get on Muldoon's bad side. He then looked at the class and asked "So, does anyone have any question's?"

'He sounds normal enough' thought Carlos.

"Yes, I have one. Have you always lived in Rome? And have you ever been to Vatican City?" asked a girl in the first row.

"Actually, I use to live up in Maine with my family. But, some interesting things happened and I found myself moving to Rome. And yes, I actually have been to Vatican City. I was educated there for the last five years of my life" explained Ben.

"Have you been anywhere else?" asked Eliza.

"Sure, I traveled all over the world over the last few years. I've been to China, Russia, Japan, Nepal, and many other places. And I can speak about seven languages. Though, to be honest, three of them I don't speak quite well yet" said Ben.

"Why have you come here now?" asked Whitney.

"Well, um...I'm on a...secret mission?" said Ben as he nervously scratched his chin. Everyone looked at him for a second before they started laughing. And no one noticed Muldoon looking at Ben with both shock and worry on her face.

"Seriously though, I've been away from the States for far to long and I wanted to come back" explained Ben.

"But why here to Salem and not back to your home town?" asked a male student.

"Well, I guess I always wanted to see this place. And, the truth is...this is the place the school I was last at decided to drop me at after I decided to come back" said Ben.

"Are you a fan of anime, manga, and video games?" asked Carlos suddenly.

Everyone looked at him and he simply shrugged and said "What? It's a valid question."

"Yeah, I like them just fine. I'm especially a big fan of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. I like a good head trip" said Ben.

'Alright, I'm finally not alone here anymore' Carlos thought as he mentally cheered.

"So, is there anymore question's for Mr. Crowswell?"

"Do you have any sibling's" asked Beth.

"Yeah, I have a little sister. But, she and I aren't really close" said Ben. 'Not anymore' he added mentally.

Beth wanted to ask about his parents and what they did, but something told her it was better to not ask right now. And seeing as no further question's were being asked, Muldoon stood up from her chair and spoke.

"Alright, it's time we begin today's lesson. Mr. Crowswell, please take that empty seat next to the window." She then pointed to the aforementioned seat. Ben nodded and started to move to his desk, but stopped when he heard Muldoon speak again.

"Oh, miss Whitetrain, will you do me a favor?" asked Muldoon.

Beth stood up and said "Sure, what is it ma'am?"

"After classes are over, would you show Mr. Crowswell around the school. It would really be helpful."

"Sure thing" said Beth as she turned to look at Ben. "I guess I'll be your escort for the day, huh?"

"Sure looks like it" said Ben, giving her a warm smile.

After they both sat down again, Muldoon started her daily lesson's which soon enough had everyone groaning in annoyance Well, everyone who knew how she was about educating her student's that is.

It was late afternoon and Beth was standing outside the main building as she patiently awaited Ben to come and join her. She thought about her first impression of him and thought to he did seem like some one she could be friends with. But, it would be this show and tell that would help her make a final call on that belief.

"Hey, why you hanging around out here? Shouldn't you be showing the new kid around?" asked Eliza as she walked up to Beth.

"He had to go see Father Cunningham first. He said he'd meet me out here afterwords" replied Beth.

Eliza nodded, then she blushed as she said "So, is he your type of guy or not?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Beth.

"Oh, come on. I know you well enough to know that it must have crossed your mind. Most of the guys here at St. Claire's are guys you have no interest in and from what I can tell based on my first impression on Ben is that he could be right up your ally" replied Eliza as she nudged her friend in the ribs.

Beth blushed, looking away and said "Don't tease me like that. I just met the guy so it's gonna be a while before I can tell something like that. Now, if you excuse me, I need to think about what order to show things to him."

"OK, I get the message. Just make sure you tell us all about it in the morning" said Eliza as she turned and walked away.

'Like there's anything that going to be worth telling' thought Beth as she returned to waiting.

(office of Father Cunningham)

"So, how was your first day, Ben?" asked the head of St. Claire's.

"About as well as can be expected. Rather plain, boring...normal. Well, normal for the average person and not so much for me, given my past and all" said Ben as he found himself enjoying the comfort of the chair he was sitting in.

"How true, and just how much of that past did you share with your classmates?" asked Cunningham.

"Do you need to ask? How would I even explain something like that? Most of my past involves things most people don't even believe in. And if at all possible, I'd rather it stay that way with everyone here" said Ben.

"Agreed. So, what is your first impression of miss Whitetrain?" asked Cunningham.

"She's really nice and I can tell she's one of those dreamer's who has big plans for her life in the future. It's going to be nice to get to know her. And speaking of her, I better get going. She's waiting for me down by the entrance to give me the ground tour" said Ben as he got up and started for the door.

"One more thing" asked Cunningham, stopping Ben just as his hand touches the door knob.

"Have you...sensed anything unusual in the air since arriving here?" asked Cunningham in a more serious tone.

"No, I haven't. And yet, I still feel a little anxious about something. I have a feeling my arrival here couldn't have been better timed" said Ben, his tone more serious as well.

"I know as I can feel that foreboding feeling as well. So, what will you do?" asked Cunningham.

"What I was sent here to do, nothing more" was Ben's reply before opening the door and leaving.

'I just hope it won't get to difficult for you, Ben' thought Cunningham as he looked to the window.

As Ben exited the main building, he saw Beth sitting on a bench by the entrance. He allowed himself to smile a little as he approached her. In a way, he envied her. She was able to live such a normal and carefree life. Just like he had used to be able to do. But, that was another life time ago.

"Hey, sorry if I kept you waiting" said Ben as he came to a stop by Beth.

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it. It's nice out here so it wasn't so bad. So, ready to start the tour?" she asked.

"Ready when ever you are" said Ben as Beth stood up.

"OK, but first thing's first. I think we should reintroduce ourselves to each other" said Beth.

Ben laughed and asked "Is that normal around here or something?"

Beth couldn't help but giggle as well as she said "Not really, but it seemed like a good idea."

Ben nodded and said "Good point, let's do it. Why don't you go ahead and start this off. Ladies first as they say."

"Thank you. Anyways, my full name is Bethany Whitetrain. But please, call me Beth."

"Benjamin Crowswell, it's a pleasure"

Ben then extended a hand and Beth took it and after a few quick shakes, they both broke out laughing.

"Well that was fun in a weird way" said Ben.

"Yeah, it really was. I have a feeling we'll be good friends" said Beth.

"Good to know. So, we ready to explore this place?" asked Ben.

"Sure thing. Just follow me and don't be afraid to ask any question's" said Beth as she turned around and began to walk. Ben fell instep beside her as the tour of his new home began.

**{I}**

"Man, why did I choose this damn job" complained Ed Rogers.

"Man, you going off about this again. Look, when you're a cop, you will have good days and you will have bad days. Today is just one of those "bad" ones. Now quit your bitch'n and go check that alleyway over there and I'll check this one" said his partner..

Ed was a thirty seven year old officer in the Salem Police force. He had joined because he wanted to have excitement and adventure in his life. However, he soon found life in Salem a little boring and repetitive.

'Man, I knew I should have moved to Manhattan or LA. At least I'd be getting a better kick out of my life than this' thought Ed as he entered the alleyway Both he and his partner had heard about a man getting drunk and having smashed up a liquor store, supposedly when he ran out of beer and found the place closed when he came to get more, and robbed the place. An eye witness saw him stumbling around this area and moving in and out of alleyways.

The small space was covered in grime and discarded food items that had fallen from the trash dumps in the alley. Also, there was a rather pungent scent in the air that was a real offence to one's nose.

A sound from up ahead caught his attention and he pressed forward. Though the sun was still out, the alley was darkening do to both how closely the buildings were spaced together and do to the fact the sun was setting.

"Hey, is anyone back here?" asked Ed as he shined a small light around, improving his field of vision.

He came to a stop and looked to his right, seeing nothing but a brick wall that blocked any escape from that direction. He shrugged and turned to look in the other direction when a sound caused him to jump. Ed immediately shined his light towards the ground, finally taking notice of what he had missed before.

A leg was sticking out from under some large boxes. He could also see some gin and Budweiser bottles laying around the boxes. 'Dumb idiot, probably passed out from having to much thought Ed as he approached the covered man.

As he used his foot to kick the box off the man, he said "OK buddy, rise and OH GOD!" Ed has to look away as he vomits with out warning. Once he was able to calm himself from the sight, he looks again at what brought on his sudden attack.

The man was dead, there was no question. But it was the fact his death was caused by something that had ripped into his chest and devoured several internal organs that had result in Ed's panic attacking and puking.

"What the hell happened here?" Ed asked himself aloud as he looked around for any evidence of who could have done this.

"NOT A GOOD FIT, TASTE GOOD THOUGH"

Ed shot his light around, darting it all over the place as he looked for the source of the voice. "Who's there?" he shouts.

"MAYBE YOU?"

Ed stops his light as he feels something above him. He slowly tilts it up only to see something lunge down at him. The quick glance at the form was enough to make him scream, or at least he would have if the thing didn't go right for his mouth and forcing its way inside and down his throat.

Ed's whole body convulses as he collapses to the ground, where it remains motionless for a few moments. The eyes then open, but with a slightly red hue rimmed around the irises as Ed gets up. After a few quick stretches, Ed smiles as he leaves the alleyway.

"This one will do nicely. Now, I can go looking for the target" said Ed, though his voice was distorted and garbled.

As he exited the alley, his partner walks up and ask "Any luck?"

"Luck? Oh, no I mean. The guy wasn't there. To be honest, I think he's already moved to another street. Assuming he hasn't headed home already" said Ed.

"You may be right. Wanna go check it out?" asked the other man.

"Might as well, staying here is useless" said Ed as they got into the car.

"Hey man, you OK? You sound different."

"Who me? Naw, I'm fine. Say, mind if I use the computer to find someone? I just remembered I have an old friend in town I wanna check in on and maybe we may have an address in the database" asked Ed.

"As long as you don't tell anyone, sure."

'Perfect, humans are always so easy to use' thinks Ed as he enters into the computer and types in his targets name.

(St. Claire's)

"And here we are, the dorms" said Beth as she and Ben came to a stop.

"Hm, four total huh? So, which is which?" asked Ben as he looked them both over.

"The two on the right are four the girls and the left side ones are for the guys. Seeing as we cater to kids of all ages from across the country, we need a lot of sleeping space" explained Beth.

"I see your point. And seeing how big this place is itself, the dorms being big doesn't surprise me that much" said Ben.

"So, you know where your room is?" asked Beth.

Ben nods and points towards it as he says "Yeah. I'm in Dorm C, third floor, room 53 on the end there."

"No way, that's directly across from my room. I'm the same way, mirroring yours" said Beth.

"That's cool. I can use my telescope to peek in on you when you're changing" joked Ben.

Catching the joke, Beth laughs and says "Maybe, if I didn't have my windows covered when I did though. So, anything else you need before we part for the night?"

"Nope, I'm good" said Ben.

"OK then, I'll see you tomorrow then" said Beth as she waved to him while walking to her dorm.

'Pleasant dreams, Bethany' thinks Ben as he heads to his dorm.

(a few hours later)

"Hey, where's Ed at?" asked Chief Walson, head of the Salem police force.

"Not sure. I think he clocked out early. Said something about feeling sick" said Ed's partner.

"Really, he wasn't just skipping out early again, was he?" asked Wilson.

"I don't think so. He was looking rather pale and his eyes were a little red around them rims."

"Well, he better not be joking about this. His attitude lately has been pissing me off" said Wilson as he turned back to go to his office.

(elsewhere)

A car came to a stop just outside St. Claire's and Ed emerged from the vehicle. He looked around, seeing no sign of anybody around. Once in the clear, he some how jumped up and over a twenty five foot tall steel gate with little effort, and proceeded deeper into the academy grounds.

'If I remember correctly, I's suppose to place it in the center of this place to insure maximum effect' thought Ed as he looked around.

Using his enhanced senses, he was able to find it soon enough. As he arrived in the center of the academy, he pressed a hand to his stomach, creating a low gurgling sound. After a moment, his neck buldged as he vomited up a small black, marble sized sphere, which landed in his opened hand.

"So disgusting" he said to himself as he held the sphere in place and squeezed hard, causing it to shatter. The moment the orb shattered, a pulse of energy shot out, covering the whole academy grounds causing the affected area to be covered in a light, grayish fog.

"Just like I was told it would work" thought Ed as he turned his attention back to the dorm buildings.

Once he was standing between the four buildings, he closed his eyes and focused on finding his target. She would be unaffected by what he had just done, which made finding her both easier and harder. Easier as her presence would be the only living thing detected with in the barriers space. And harder because she would be the only one not effected by what he had just done.

No matter. Like any human girl could outmatch him anyways.

As he took a step towards the girls dorm,his body froze as he spun around, his eyes falling onto the boys dorm section. For just a moment, his eyes remained fixated on the dorm as his vision darted around, trying to locate the presence he had just sensed.

'What the hell was that?' he thought, feeling uncomfortable all of the sudden.

Seeing as he couldn't detect anything else, he simply shrugged and returned to his mission. 'It must have been just a fluke' he thought. After all, it wasn't like he had detected a life form per say. But there was something about it that had sent chills up his spine.

Beth had just finished getting ready for bed and was wearing her emerald green night dress. She took a moment to look through her charm box as she had decided to give Ben a welcome gift in the morning when she suddenly felt the air become just the slightest bit cooler.

'That's strange. Did the air cooler for the building turn on?' she wondered. It was strange if it had seeing as it was early October. But then again, the thing was old and needing to be replaced.

But the weird feeling didn't go away. It just kept growing. Not sure why, she walked over to the window and pushed the curtain out of the way to see outside. 'When did it become foggy outside?' she wondered, feeling even more nervous because of the weird weather outside.

KNOCK KNOCK

"AHH" she screamed in surprise at the sound of someone knocking at her door.

"Um, yes? Who is it?" she asked nervously as she turned around.

"Miss Whitetrain?" came a male voice from the other side of the door.

"Y..yes, that's me" she said in reply.

"Officer Ed of the Salem Police department. Would you please open up" was the reply.

"Sure, OK" she said as she walked to the door, taking a moment to grab her night robe to cover herself. It was strange that a police officer had come to see her seeing as she hadn't broken any laws (as far as she knew). Once the robe was on and tied, she walked up to the door, unlocked it, and opened it up.

"Can I help y...ou" she said, stopping as she saw him.

The obvious thing she had notice was his face. His skin was very pale and it seemed to be peeling a bit. His eyes were blood shot and wide. And there was a growing stench coming off him that wasn't normal for a person. She also noticed that Ms. Hobbin's, the woman in charge of her dorm wasn't there. Which made her worry even more.

He stared down at her and said "I want you."

"Before she could respond in any way, his hand came up and shoved her back hard. The force caused her to trip and fall onto her back with him right on top of her. She had cried out from the push and hitting the ground. And she screamed loudly as he got on top of her.

"HELP ME. SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE HELP ME."

"Yell all you want girl. No one can hear you now. As far as we're concerned, me and you are the only conscious people here" he said as he pinned both her arms over her head with one hand.

'Oh god, he's gonna rape me' she thought in horror as she struggled to break free.

"No, I'm not interested in defiling your puny body" he said, reading her mind.

"Your not? Then why are you...hey, what do you mean by "puny"? I happen to think I have a well developed body for a girl my age" she complained as she was more offended at what he said than what he might be trying to do right now.

"Like I said before, I want you" said Ed as he took his free hand and brought it up close to her left eye.

"I want...your eyes" he said as he pressed his fingers up against the skin around her eyes and pressed against them.

Beth froze in fear at what was about to happen, feeling her eye beginning to move out of its socket.

BAM

Ed screamed as his head shot back, both hands shooting to his face as he fell away from Beth. She laid there for just a moment, processing what had just happened when she snapped back to reality Freeing a leg from being pinned down by her attacker, she kicked him in the groin, causing him to finish falling off her. She then got to her feet and made a run for it.

As she raced down the stairs, her mind raced as to what was going on. And who was it that had saved her. She quickly made her way to Ms. Hobbin's room and opened the door with out taking time to knocking.

"Ms. Hobbin's, there's..." She stopped mid-sentence when Beth saw her. The older woman was frozen in place, almost like time was standing still. But she noticed the TV was still normal and a fan on the ceiling was still slowly spinning. Did this mean only living things had been affected by this odd force.

"You can't escape me" was heard from not far away. Realizing she was still in danger, Beth ran straight to the door and out into the open. As she ran, she decided to make for the entrance to St. Claire's and hope she might find help outside the academy grounds.

As she reached the main gate, she quickly grabbed onto it and tried to open the gate up, but it had already been locked. "Damn it, open up" she shouts as she rattles the gate in vain. The thought of trying to slide in between the bars passed her mind, but that was already an obvious impossibility

"There you are. It's rude to try to run when we have things to do" said Ed from behind her.

She spun around and found herself pressing her back against the bars. She could see that his right eye was missing and blood was gushing from the wound. And yet, he was still alive.

"How are you still alive? You got shot in the eye" asked Beth, trying her best to remain calm and to think of something.

"Who ever said this body was still alive?" asked Ed as he smiled at her. "I don't have time for games. So be a good girl and give me your eyes" he shouts as he rushes at her.

Finding her legs frozen in place, refusing to move for her, Beth just closed her eyes and prayed to god for someone to come and save her.

BAM BAM BAM

"GGAAHH" shouts Ed as he stumbles to the ground hard. One bullet hit the back of his leg. Another his shoulder. And a third had hit the back of his head.

"Beth, you OK?" asked a familiar voice, bringing Beth to open her eyes and look at her rescuer.

"Ben?" she asked as she looked at him. He was standing a little ways back from Ed with what appeared to be a revolver in his hand.

"Sorry for being a little late. It took forever to get down those stairs and get the door opened" said Ben as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment

"Ben? What are you doing here? What's going on?" asked Beth, confused.

"Damn you, you little shit. Where did you come from? And why aren't you being affected by the freeze mist?" asked Ed as he started to pick himself up.

"Beth, quick. Get over here" shouts Ben. Needing no further incentive, Beth ran over and got behind Ben, yet keeping herself ready to move again if need be.

As Ed got back to his feet, he looked at Ben and Beth and glared with his one eye. "Answer me" he shouts.

It was then he noticed it. Located around Ben's neck was a pendant with a familiar crest engraved on it. He then looked at the gun and realized he recognized the design of it too.

"Now I see. I should have realized it before. You're a Paladin, aren't you. One of the Vatican's secret military dogs. I should have realized they'd send one of you here to protect her" said Ed.

"And I'm also the one that shot you before, case you didn't figure that one out" said Ben.

'Paladin? The Vatican? Just what is going on here?' wondered Beth.

Ed cursed under his breath before saying "No matter. I came here to get her eyes and no one will stop me. Not even a dog of the Vatican." Ed then rushes forward.

Ben sighs as he aims he gun at Ed and fires off a shot. But Ed dodges it and jumps into the air. Beth is surprised by how high he reached, but reminds herself that he had taken several hits from Ben's gun, two in the head. And yet he was still alive.

Ben readjusted his aim and fired again. Somehow, Ed managed to dodge it while in the air as he laughed. He raised his right hand, which looked as if it had become more claw like as he approached Ben and Beth.

"Ben?" said Beth, thinking they should run.

"Don't worry, I got him" said Ben, showing no sign of worry in his voice.

But instead of firing the shot, he allows Ed to land before him while pushing Beth back along with himself to avoid Ed's attack. Ed attempted to come up from his landing quickly to strike down Ben, both his move was stopped as Ben planted a foot to his gut.

As he recovered, he opened his mouth to talk, but Ben took the opportunity to shove his gun into Ed's mouth. There was no words spoken or any moments wasted, Ben just pulled the trigger, blowing the back of Ed's head off.

Beth screamed as his body fell back onto the ground. "Wha...what...what are you doing? You...you killed him" she stammered out, now feeling afraid of Ben.

Ben didn't turn his attention away from the body. He could tell she was moving away from him which led him to say "The man has been dead for some time."

That stopped Beth's retreat as she asked "What? But, how do you know that?"

DAMN YOU, PALADIN SHIT

"Who said that?" asked Beth as she looked around quickly.

"He did" stated Ben as he pointed at Ed's body.

Beth turned her attention to the body, seeing nothing at first. But then, she saw his chest bulge several moments before it burst open and a green and black skinned creature the size of a Chihuahua popped out. It had paper thin arms and legs, a long pointy and bent nosed, and three eyes, and a short tail.

Beth couldn't stop herself from vomiting at the sight, while Ben took a moment to load a bullet into his gun. The creature tried to hop away, but Ben was faster and quickly pinned it down with one foot, just leaving its head and upper body exposed.

"What is that?" asked Beth. She had gotten over her sudden vomiting episode and had walked up beside Ben, looking at the creature before her..

"He's a Oja, a lower class of Imp demon. They're not very strong themselves, but they can posess humans by entering through their mouths" explained while never taking his eyes off the Oja.

"And what about that man? You said he was already dead" asked Beth.

"When an Oja enters a person's body, it will eat the host heart and several other inner organs Once done, it will tap into the host central nervous system and control them for as long as the body holds out. The fact his body was already starting to decay in an accelerated way was the proof" said Ben.

Beth looked at the Oja with disgust and said "How horrible. Just what kind of monster would do that?"

"You'd be surprised" said Ben. He then leaned down and placed the barrel of the gun to the Oja's face and asked "OK, who sent you?"

GO TO HELL, HUMAN FUCK

The Oja knew that if it talked, he would be in worse danger than he was right now. But still, even for a Paladin, how did this human avoid being affected by the enchantment he had used. He couldn't see any form of protection on him that could ward off such magicks.

It was then it hit him. The weird feeling he had sensed earlier. The only thing that could have caused that was...

"Now, that isn't very nice" said Ben as he pulled back on the hammer.

Of course, there was no question about it for the Oja. This Paladin had to be...

The shot from Ben's gun rang across the academy grounds. The head of the Oja had been completely destroyed by the shot. As Ben took his foot off it's body, what was left turned to dust and then blew away in the wind.

"Is it over?" asked Beth as Ben put his gun away.

"For the moment. But there will be more. And many of those will be more difficult to deal with than this one" said Ben.

Beth was about to ask him a question that had been bugging her, but she suddenly noticed the air change just a little and the weird gray fog finally let up.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Seeing as the Oja is dead and he was the one who froze all living mater with some magicks, everything is returning to normal. Now, to make a call" said Ben as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. He dialed in a number and awaited it to connect with the other end of the line.

Beth remained quiet as Ben started to talk. "Father Cunningham, it's me. We had an...unwanted guest show up for Beth. But I took care of it. But, you might want to send someone over here. It was an Oja and we have a dead body to deal with."

"Understood, it'll be taken care of" was heard from the other end before the line went silent.

As Ben put his cell phone away, he looked at Beth and awaited the question's he knew was coming. "OK Ben, just what the hell is going on here? Why was that thing after me? And...and what about you?"

Ben sighed as he had hoped he could spare her from knowing these things. At the very least, he had wanted to keep the truth from her longer than he had been able to. "Walk with me" was his reply as he turned away. Beth followed him, awaiting his reply to her question.

As they moved around the academy, Ben started talking and explaining things to her.

"Like I said before, that creature was an Oja, an imp like demon sent here for your eyes. However, I doubt he was expected to succeed in that mission. It's more likely he was just sent in to see if the Vatican had already acted. Now that it is known that the Vatican has, they will act more accordingly in the future" said Ben.

"And who are "they" exactly?" asked Beth.

Ben shrugs and says "We're not sure. However, he or they have been smart enough to stay cloaked in the shadows and away from Paladin's well trained eyes."

"And what is Paladin exactly? And why hasn't it ever been talked before when it comes to the church?" asked Beth.

"Again, as you heard before, Paladin is a secret force under the Vatican's control that exist for the sole purpose of fighting back the darker forces that exist in this world. Forces that the Vatican and several other powerful groups want to keep from the minds of the people in this world" said Ben.

"Why?" asked Beth.

"Well, there are some things that would be hard to believe for some people. Trust me, you and everyone else would be happier not knowing what is really out there. I should know because it's how I feel" said Ben.

"How did you get involved in this then? I mean, your the same age as me and all?" asked Beth.

"Yeah, that is true. Let's just say for now that a few years ago, I found myself being involved in an incident with one of those other forces people weren't meant to know about" said Ben, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Beth wanted to ask him more about it, but something in her gut told her to drop it for now. So, she moved on to her last big question. "Why me? What's so special about me?"

"It's your dreams" was Ben's reply.

"My dreams? What do my dreams have anything to do with this? And how would they or you or anyone know about them anyways? I've only told my closest friends and I know they've kept them secret" said Beth.

"Just as there are forces out there that people have never known to be real, so to are there ways for people to know about certain things. Things like your dreams. We know about the dream you've been having recently. A dream of four figures astride on horse back with the world around them ablaze with fire and sorrow" said Ben.

"How...how do you know that?" she asked, amazed that he did know.

"Like I said. There are ways of knowing" replied Ben.

"Then what does that dream represent?" asked Beth.

"Your dream...represents the sign of the Harbinger's; the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that will herald the beginning of the end"aid Ben as he stopped walking and looked at her.

Beth stopped as well and looked into his eyes to see if he was lying to her. But not seeing any falsehood, she asked "Then, what does that mean for me?"

"You, Beth, are a Prophet. You were graced, or maybe cursed depending on how you look at it, with the gift of sight. The power to see the future in this case. And the future you can see in the end of the world. And in time, you will begin to see more than just the four" said Ben.

Beth took a step back, shaking her head as her mind refused to accept this. "No, it can't be. This can't be true, be real. I'm just dreaming all this and I want to wake up. I NEED TO WAKE UP! She screamed out the last part as she clutched her head between her hands.

Before she realized it, Ben had moved forward and wrapped her into a tight hug. She was to surprised to try to free herself, instead finding some level of comfort in the hug.

"I'm so sorry, Beth. I wanted to to keep this from you. I wanted to preserve you innocence of knowing all this for as long as I could, if not forever. But, this is real and no amount of denial will change that" said Ben in as comforting a tone as he could.

"Ben" she said before burying her face into his shoulder and started to cry.

Ben rub a hand up and down her back, giving her some comfort as he said "But don't worry. I'm here now and I will protect you from anything that comes after you. No one will hurt you, I swear it."

For a few minutes, they remained like that as Beth finished crying her tears and even for a while after she had stopped. But finally, she pulled away and looked at Ben before smiling at him just a little. Seeing that she was tired, Ben escorted her back to the dorms.

As they walked up, they saw several men taking care of Ed's body. One of them saw Ben and walked over. "The usual?" asked Ben.

"Killed in a robber gone bad" was all that was said before the man turned and rejoined the others as the took Ed's body away.

As the got to the entrance of the girls dorm, Beth pulled away from Ben and looked at him. "Ben, did you mean it when you said you will protect me?"

"Yeah, of course I will. That's why I'm here after all" said Ben, giving her a reassuring smile.

She smiled as well, then asked "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Ben was quiet for a moment, then said "No, nothing that's important anyways."

"Alright. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then" she said as she walked up to the door.

But as she entered the dorm, she stopped and turned back, saying "Ben, thank you." And with that, she entered the dorm.

Ben remained there for a moment before turning around and walking towards the boys dorm. But, as he approached the door, he saw a figure there awaiting him.

"Father Cunningham" said Ben as he walked up to the older man.

"So, you had to tell her everything then?"asked Cunningham.

"Not everything, just what she needed to know now. If possible, I'd like to keep that bit of truth from her for a little longer if I can" said Ben as he looked up at the moon.

Cunningham did this as well and said "I know. Something like that is better left unknown."

(the next morning)

'Man, I couldn't sleep at all' groaned Ben as he wobbled down the stairs. The fear another attack could happen so soon had kept him awake and it didn't help he was never a morning person to begin with. As he exited the boys dorm, he was stopped by a person standing before him.

"Beth?" said Ben as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning, Ben. Ready for another great day?" she asked as she gave him an encouraging smile.

Despite how tired he was, Ben returned her smile. 'Maybe it will, Beth, maybe it will' he thought as they began their walk to class together.

"So, did you get any sleep last night?" asked Ben.

"Not even a seconds worth. I doubt I'll ever sleep right again" replied Beth, making them both laughed as they entered the mainb building. Yup, today was gonna be a good day...to sleep through class.

**{I}**

_next time:_

_a day of fun_

_a man with a need for revenge_

_an unforgivable act_

**The Harbinger's**

**chpt.2: The Weekend**

_have a great day_

Next chapter will have first set of character bio's and creature info...


	2. The Weekend

"You guys want to take me out to see Salem?" asked Ben, a little surprised by this sudden plan.

"Of course, travel boy. We figured that since you're new here, you would want to get the lay of the land and seeing as it's Saturday, we're all free to give you the grand tour" said Eliza as she gave him a rather forceful pat on the back.

"But, if you don't want too, we don't have to, Ben" said Whitney shyly at him. She had never been one to force people to do stuff against their will and if Ben didn't want to do it, then she felt they should respect that.

"Nah, that's OK. I wouldn't mind the tour. I just thought you guys would be busy with other stuff is all" said Ben, letting Whitney know it was OK.

"Well then, go get ready then. We'll meet at the front gate in fifteen minutes. So you better not be late" says Eliza as she and Whitney turn and head back to the girls dorm.

"Oh boy, this is gonna be a day" said Ben as he sighs, but smiled nonetheless as well.

**The Harbinger's**

**tome 2: The Weekend**

"What's the matter Beth? Nervous about spending the day with Ben?" asked Eliza teasingly as the three girls walked towards the gate.

"What? Of course not. I think this will be a fun day for all of us. And who knows, maybe showing him around will produce a similar feeling of discovery with in us" said Beth as she finished tying the scrunchy to her hair.

"Yeah" said Whitney happily, just glad to be spending time with her friends today.

As the passed through the gate, their eyes fell onto Ben's form and they noticed Carlos was there as well. "Hey Otaku, what are you doing here?" asked Eliza.

Carlos looked up and said "Afro girl, was-sup. I ran into Ben and found out about this little day trip. So, I decided to come along to make sure he actually had fun today. And speaking of fun, how about you and me go out on a date while we're out."

Eliza's response was to sock Carlos in the jaw, then say "First, stop with that Afro girl crap. I hate that nickname. And secondly, I wouldn't date you even if you were the last guy on Earth. Got it?"

Carlos rubbed his sore jaw and said "Yeah yeah, I got it." He then leaned over and said quietly to Ben "I'm starting to wear her down. Usually, she would be yelling at me about that stuff. Just watch as I continue to win her over and make her mine."

As Carlos returned to what ever delusional thoughts he was having, Ben looked at Beth and Whitney and shrugged, letting them know he was confused.

"Carlos has had a crush on Eliza for a few year now and gave her that nickname as a sign of it. And as you can tell, Eliza is less than flattered by it" explained Beth.

"Still, you have to admire his stubbornness too" adds Whitney.

"That's easy for you to say. You're not the one being bugged by him about it" spat out Eliza, obviously annoyed.

'And yet, you gave him a nickname too. Wonder if it means anything?' thinks Ben, grinning a little.

"So, where are we going?" asked Ben.

"Well, I was thinking we show you the big sites most people should know about" said Beth.

"Hey, let's take him to Gracie's Place. He'll love it" says Eliza.

"Isn't that a bar? Don't tell me you actually go there?" asked Carlos.

"Maybe" said Eliza, giving him a suspicious wink about it.

"What? You mean you can actually get in? And they'll serve you too? How?" asked Carlos.

"Two words; Fake I.D." said Eliza as she pulled it out to show them.

"Ahh, no fair. I want one too" shouts Carlos.

"How about we take him to Witch Walk Mall" said Whitney.

"Hey, good idea. They just opened recently and I've been wanting to go myself" said Beth.

"Yeah, that is a good idea. Shopping spree time, girls" Eliza says in a cheer.

"Well, he comes the bus. So we better decide now" said Ben, pointing out the approaching transport.

They quickly agree on Witch Walk as they bored the bus to begin their day.

(else where)

The room was dark as their was no lights on except for the TV which was showing static and the windows drapes were closed. A man stood over his bed, looking down at the cache of weapons spread out over the sheets.

'Damn bitch, you think you can leave me? After all I've done for you, all I've given you?' thought the man as he picket up one small fire arm and looked it over.

After a few more moments, he finally decided on what he wanted to bring as he started grabbing both various weapons and ammo and placing upon his person. He then grabs a coat to wear to conceal them. After all, people were so small and narrow minded about stuff like this.

He then looks over at a picture of his soon to be ex and himself and picks it up. He sheds a tears as his face contorts into one of rage.

"I loved you. Sure, I made many mistakes in the past. I would beat you, fuck other women. But that's all they were to me. Just some cheap momentary fucks. But, you were the one I loved. You and only you. And how do you repay my love?" he said, his voice breaking as he spoke.

He then throws the picture against the wall in a rage. He then pulls a gun out and aims it at the picture, now laying on the ground in a pile of broken glass and frame.

"YOU SAY YOU'RE LEAVING ME. THAT YOUR FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS ENCOURAGED YOU TO LEAVE ME! NO ONE LEAVES RANDEL CRATS. YOU HERE ME BITCH? NOBODY" he screams as he fires a single round into the picture, leaving a hole right where her face was.

Having been calmed slightly by this, he places the gun back inside his coat along with the others. He then checked one last time to make sure the bullet proof vest was secured to his fame. Smiling, he turned and headed for the door, grabbing his car keys from the table as he moved.

"We can't have that now, can we. If I can't have you, then no one will. And as for those damn shits that encouraged you to leave, then they'll share your fate as well. No one ever hurts me and lives" said Randal

He knew he himself would likely die this day. But, he was going to make sure his ex and as many of her co-workers (and, if he was lucky, her friends) would die by his hands. Once in his car, he began his long and fateful drive to the place she worked at.

A local Spenser's, inside Witch Walk Mall.

(back with the teens)

It had taken 38 minutes and a transfer to another bus to get the group to their destination. Along the way, they had pointed out various places of interest to Ben as well as provided humor for him about things. Mostly, that humor had just come from Eliza and Carlos over stupid stuff.

But eventually, they arrived at the bus stop outside the mall and disembarked. Ben's first reaction was to whistle his being impressed with the size of parking lot. "Well, I already know this place is gonna be bigger than the mall back in my home town."

"Actually, this is just parking zone C. There are six total and two of them are those multi floored parking garages, though the various levels are underground which is why you can't see them" explained Carlos.

"And just wait till we get inside. Then you'll have something to really whistle about" adds Eliza as she gave him a thumbs up.

Ben nods as the five teens begin walking towards Witch Walk, veering around several cars and hearing one driver use some really colorful words when another driver cut him off at getting a parking space. But soon enough, they made it to the main east side entrance of the mall and entered it.

And, after a few minutes of walking down a large hall with shops along both sides, they entered into the large main area, causing Ben to gape in surprise at the sight before him. Beth and Whitney giggled a little as he ran up to the railing and looked out over the expanse.

"Holy Hanna, it's a multilevel mall" said a stunned Ben. He knew they had existed, but had never been in one before.

"That's right Ben, pretty cool huh? Including this top, ground level floor, the mall has four floors total. Three eatery zones. About 600 stores of various interest. And of course, the theme park" pointed out Eliza, even though Ben could already see the large roller coaster inside.

"Damn, what is this place? Mall of America ver.2?" asked Ben.

"You could say that, Ben" said Whitney, smiling and remembering her own first time reaction to seeing this place.

"Now you know why the parking lot is so big. They say this is a trend that shall be continued across the country. And with in ten years, most major city's will have one of these Omega Malls as they have come to call them" said Carlos.

"And to make it easier to find things, you can walk up to one of those kiosk they have set up to down load digital mall maps onto your phone, assuming you have a compatible cell that is. With it, you can look through the story directory, select the ones you want to go to, and follow GPS made routes to get to those spots quickly" said Beth as she pulled out her I-Phone Deluxe model.

"Rats, I need to upgrade my phone then. The one I have doesn't even have internet or even a camera on it" said Ben, suddenly feeling like a caveman for having such an outdated phone.

"Well then, we know were we're going first. To the I-Store, people" shouts Eliza as she begins walking towards some steps that lead to the lower levels.

"If I remember right, the I-Store is quite a walk, so we she hop onto the mall trollies to get there faster" suggested Whitney.

"Good idea, my legs demand rest. Plus, I wanna save my strength for carrying all the stuff I want to buy" adds Carlos.

'And all our stuff too' mentally adds Eliza as she smirked.

As they walked, Beth stays close to Ben and quietly ask "Hey, I thought you'd have a tricked out phone for being a Paladin" and hoping the others didn't hear her.

"I do, but it can only be used for Paladin exclusive stuff. My regular cell is something I've had for years now. But I gotta say, it gets good distance on it" said Ben, equally quiet as they started to descend the steps.

**{II}**

Randal's car came to a stop inside the parking garage. After coming to a full stop, he took a moment to go over his plan. From the closest entrance, it would take him twelve minutes of walking as well as two levels of stairs to get to the Spenser's with in the mall.

There was a small hitch that could occur with his plan and that was her not being at work now. He had her hours memorized and this was her usual day and time. But that didn't mean she'd be here today. And seeing as he wouldn't kill any of his other targets with out killing her first, it was possible this day could go to waste.

Shaking that thought from his mind, he pulls out some Jack Daniels and chugs the whole thing down in one go. Seeing as the mall had ample security, it was very likely he'd be dead soon after the he fired the first shot. So, he knew he couldn't fail in this.

Randal got out of his car, but decided not to lock it. He began walking towards the entrance, he smiled at the thought of her face once he shot her. There was something about how it would look tickled his insides and made him feel giddy as a kid on Christmas Day.

(inside)

"You know I would do anything for you Eliza, but isn't this a little...cruel" Carlos strained voice said as he found himself holding all of the girls shopping bags. Not just Eliza's, but Beth's and Whitney's too. The both of them had said they could do it themselves, but Eliza insisted that Carlos pulled his weight seeing as he just had to come with them. Then Eliza started to giggle about it.

"Do you want me to help out?" asked Ben, who was holding a single bag of things he had bought.

For just a second, Carlos was about to give him a very grateful yes. But he noticed Eliza look at him with a knowing stare, which led him to say "No, I'm good. Helps with building upper body strength."

"OK" said Ben, knowing he was lying about wanting help.

"Hey, check this out. There' having a sale at New-Gap. Come on guys, I smell great deals" said Eliza in a sing song voice.

"WHAT? You mean there's even more shopping needing done?" said Carlos with such surprise in his voice, he dropped the bags with out thinking.

"You IDIOT, don't treat our new stuff like month old garbage. I thought you were better than that" said Eliza. She did feel bad about abusing him like this, but she just couldn't help herself.

Carlos rolled his eyes, then sighed as he picked them all up again and said "Just lead the way, princess."

'Poor Carlos, maybe we should talk Eliza into at least giving him one date. I think he deserves that' thought Beth as she watched him follow after Eliza.

"Ben. Ben? Is something wrong?" asked Whitney suddenly, bringing everyone attention back to him.

Ben didn't seem to hear here as he was standing a little ways off, looking over the railing down towards the second floor of the mall. Now concerned, Beth walks up and places a hand on his shoulder, making his quickly turn to look at her.

"Ben, is something wrong?" she asked now.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I just realized I...um...need to use the bathroom. I remember seeing one a little way back. Tell you what, you guys go on ahead to New-Gap and I'll meet you there" said Ben as he started to walk away.

"DO you know how to get there?" yells Eliza.

Ben just turns back and waves his new I-Phone at them, reminding them of the app installed into it. He then turns back and continues heading to the bathroom.

"Well, we might as keep going. Ben said he'd meet us there so we better be there to meet him" said Carlos as they continued on their way.

'Ben, did you sense something?' mentally wondered Beth, thinking it may be another Oja or something worse.

As Ben reached the stairs, he quickly took the lower set towards the second level. Truth was, he really didn't need to use the bathroom, but he hadn't sensed any supernatural presence either. What he had felt was a feeling of a massive swelling of negative emotions. Emotions that had the intent to kill coming off them.

Emotions only given off by humans.

Once he was down on the second level, he wasted no time looking around as he tried to locate the source of the negative build up. He knew it was close and getting closer, but with so many people around, pinpointing the source was gonna be impossible.

That left him with only option. Pulling a pare of sun glasses from his pocket with one hand, he used the index and middle fingers of his other and placed them across his eyes and then said "It all begins with the eyes" as quietly as he could, then quickly placed the sun glasses on before anyone noticed.

Now that this was done, he continued to look around and with in moment's he found his target. Directly behind him at about fifteen yards away and moving further off was a man who's body practically oozed of negative energy. And what's more, he could now sense that man's attentions. And that was murder.

Ben shakes his head as his eyes return to normal and he removes the sun glasses. "Damn, it's always something, isn't it" he mummers to himself before chasing off after the man. He didn't know who the target was, but he knew he had to stop this.

Up above, the others had arrived at New-Gap, but Whitney decided she had shopped enough and had decided to stay outside to keep an eye out for Ben. While waiting, she decided to walk over to the nearby railing and look out over the mall.

As her eyes wandered, they came upon Spenser's for a bit. As her eyes started to wander elsewhere, she noticed a figure running towards said store that looked familiar. 'Uh? Is that Ben?'

She kept her eyed glued on Ben, but then another site caught her eyes. A man had stopped outside Spenser's and was looking in. She wasn't sure, but she thought she could see him smile. And then, she saw him reach into his coat and pull out a gun. Her eyes widen in shock and horror at what was obviously going to happen and even more so when she realized Ben was rushing towards him.

Whitney wanted to scream, but her voice escaped her as the man took aim at someone inside Spenser's.

What happened next happened fast. Randal's would be ex, from her spot on the counter, just happened to look towards the entrance to the store and saw him with a gun aimed right at her. She herself didn't have time to respond as he pulled back on the trigger.

Ben slammed his body against Randal's in that exact moment, knocking him back and causing the gun to fire, the bullet hitting a statuette of two dragons engaged in fierce battle on the shelves. The sounds of screams could be heard as people started started running left and right.

"Damn brat, let go" shouts Randal as he struggles to keep the gun in his hands as Ben tries his best to remove it. His eyes dart into the store and sees his wife make a run towards the back entrance along with several other employees and customers.

There was no way in hell he was letting HER live, so he used his free hand to reach into his coat and pulled out another gun, pressed it to Ben's side and fired. Ben collapsed to the ground as he fired several more shots at him before turning to follow his wife.

"BEN" came a scream from above, causing Randal to spin around and open fire again. Though this time, he missed hitting anything or anyone.

Turning again to enter into Spenser's, he finds himself again being stopped as he hears something that really pisses him off. "FREEZE." He turns to see six mall cops, all pointing guns at him.

'God dammit, why is everyone getting in MY WAY?' he mentally screams as he raises both guns up and opens fire on the cops.

Two cops go down quickly and the others quickly jump to find cover as they themselves continue to fire. Randal takes the split second opportunity to turn and make a run for it, seeing as it looked like he would have to wait another day to get his revenge.

But, he stumbles over Ben's motionless form which gives one cop a chance to fire a bullet into his shoulder. He curses as he regains his footing and makes a break for it with the cops following behind him, one being on the com device demanding more officers and medical personnel to be sent in immediately.

As he rushes through the mall, he takes another bullet to his lower left leg, making him stumble again. But he takes the opportunity to reach into his pocket and pulls out a grenade and chucks it at cops, making them dive for cover as it explodes.

With the few seconds created from the blast. Randal dashes into an emergency exit tunnel, hobbling along as quickly as he could. He could see the tunnel branching into a T intersection ahead with a sign pointing left for the closest exit. He took a quick look back and saw no sign of cops following him.

If his luck held out just a little longer, he'd be able to flee and make another try later. Or, that was his thought as he reached the corner, turning to the left, only to feel a fist smash into his face. He fell back against the floor hard, but quickly recovered as he took aim with a gun.

Said gun was immediately swatted from his hand, forcing him to try and use his other one. But his attacker grabbed him by the wrist with one arm, his hand with another, and twisted both in opposite directions hard, breaking said hand.

Randal howled in pain as he lost his grip on his gun, to which his attacker took it from him, then fired off three rounds. One into his hand and one into each knee cap. To say Randal's scream of pain was loud and real was fairly obvious.

After a moment, Randal looked up and saw the face of his attacker. "You? I thought I killed you?" he said as he looked at Ben.

Ben's response was to punch him hard in the face, breaking his nose in the process. Randal choked up blood before saying in a rage "Damn you, piece of fucking shit. Why did you stop me? You had no right to keep me from getting my revenge on that traitor."

The look Ben gave him was cold and when he spoke, his voice was low and harsh. "Traitor? You say she was the traitor? Don't make me laugh. I can see your memories. They're as clear as day to me."

"What? What kind of fucking idiot are you? Seeing my memories. Hah, your really..." Randal started to say, but Ben cut him off with an even harsher tone from before.

"I can see you were unfaithful to her. You cheated all the time. So, her leaving you was justified" said Ben.

"Bullshit, we exchanged vows. She was suppose to love and honor me forever" yells Randal

"But it's a two way street. You are expected to do the same" retorts Ben.

"And I didn't? All those other women were just a cheap one night stand to me. My wife was the only one I loved. And how did she repay that love? With hate and a promise to leave me? She deserves to die. All who hurt me deserve to die. Just like you will" shouts Randal

"I see. So, it's all about you now is it? Don't make me laugh. Like I said before, I can see your memories. ALL of your memories. I can see how you abused your parents as a child. What you did to that senior girl in high school. That poor man you killed in cold blood during you college days over him beating you at poker. And I..." said Ben, stopping for a moment.

And then, something in Ben's eyes changed, becoming very dark and inhuman. "I can see what you did last year to that poor thirteen year old girl when she laughed at you for tripping over your own feet. What you did to her after she apologized about her laughing."

The fact he knew about THAT made Randal worry and the tone of his voice was now making him quake in fear for some reason. "I...I...I was...justified...in...that puni...punishment" he stammered out, knowing immediately afterwords he shouldn't have said that.

Ben closes his eyes as he says "I see. Well then, there's only one thing to do then. Normally, you would never use this on another human. The idea of it sickens me. But you sicken me even more. So, I'll swallow my pride and use it...just this once."

"Wha...what are you going to do?" asked Randal

Ben's eyes open as he places an index and middle finger over his eyes. He then says "It begins with the eyes" and slides his fingers across and off his face, creating what appears to be sparks while doing so. It's then that Randal sees and he watches in horror at what happens next.

His scream echoes down the hallway as the sound of something slicing through the air is heard, followed by the sound of flesh being ripped open, the spray of blood, and then silence.

(outside, sometime later)

"Man, where's Ben at?" wonders Carlos as they stand by the bus stop. The chaos in the mall had taken them all by surprised as thy had been herded into the connecting tunnels from the New-Gap store. They had found Whitney only little while ago, and she was still in shock as she had actually seen the shooting occur.

"Like I would know? Everything just got crazy in there all of a sudden. I just hope he didn't get caught up in it" said Eliza as she spotted the bus coming from the distance.

"Whitney, are you OK?" asked Beth as she rubbed her friends back in comfort.

"Ben...Ben, he's..." was all she kept repeating in her shocked state.

"Hey, what do you mean about Ben, anyways?" asked Eliza.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too" said Ben with out warning as he appeared from behind them.

Everyone looked at him and Carlos asked "About time man, this bus is almost here. Just where in the hell...?" He doesn't finish as Whitney snaps out of her shocked state and rushes at Ben, lifting his shirt up, and looking for any bullet holes.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Ben.

"There's no bullet holes" she said as she placed a hand on his skin.

"Wow Whit, never took you for the forward type" said Eliza as she whistled her approval.

Whitney blushes and says "No No, it's not like that. But it...well, I thought I saw Ben get shot in there."

They all look at Ben, surprised, as he says "If I had been shot, I doubt I'd be standing here now. I was in the bathroom when that stuff happened and once it was over, I started looking for you guys. I finally figured I come and wait here and I guess you all had the same idea."

"Well, that's a relief at least" said Beth as the bus pulled up. As the boarded, Beth did take a moment to glance back at Ben, wondering if he was telling the truth or not though. The bus ride back was spent with some more talking about this day. But mostly, it was spent in silence.

(that night)

"You wanted to see me, Father Cunningham?" asked Ben as he entered the large room.

"Ah Ben, good your here. I just received a call from Director Ludwig. He says he'll be sending three additional Paladin in to give you support and that they should be arriving Wednesday."

"That's good" said Ben.

"Also, I heard about the incident at Witch Walk. It seems they found the gunman in one of the connecting tunnels. In addition to several gun shot wounds, it seems to have had his chest ripped open by some unknown bladed weapon. Death was immediate and painful. So. Mind telling me what happened?" asked Cunningham.

"I made a choice. I saw the things he did, especially to that poor girl. Kidnapping her, taking her out to some shack in the middle of nowhere, raping her continuously over a three week period. And when he found she was..., he killed her and chopped her body up. For a bastard like that, I was willing to make an exception to my usual rule" said Ben.

"I don't blame you for that. But, this could be a sign that you won't be able to hide that part of your life from Beth for very long. You know that right?" said Cunningham.

Ben gets up and walks to the window and says "Yeah, I know. But, I still want to keep her innocent for a little while longer if I can."

**{II}**

_next time:_

_Arrival of allies_

_attack of one who has fallen_

_a handsome fear_

_next_** The Harbinger's**

**tome 3: Advent of the Fallen**

_run with all your might_

_Character bio: _Bethany Whitetrain

_age: _15

_height: _5'3

_weight: _112 pounds

_hair: Chestnut_ colored, usually worn in a pony tail.

Beth is your average teenage girl. She loves to have fun, hang out with her friends, and she studies hard to make good grades. Both her parents are UN ambassadors currently stationed in Africa. As a child, she was moved around a lot, which made it difficult for her to make friends.

Her parents then decided to let her go to St. Claire's for her education as they themselves had been educated there. Ever since she was eight, Beth has had a reoccurring dream about the Four Horsemen. For the longest time, she was troubled by it and still is in a way. But meeting Ben has helped accept it in a small way.

_Weapon bio:_ Redeemer; Peacemaker model: This standard piece of Paladin equipment is a little outdated by current era weapons, but it still used by those with a sense of history about them (like Ben). The gun resembles a revolver and can hold six to eight bullets at a time, depending on the barrel type.

The thing about all weapons used by Paladin's is that they have been enhanced for the fight against the darkness. In the case of Redeemer class firearms, the bullets have been inscribed with angelic text and have some Heavenly water stored with in to make them more dangerous to the supernatural forces.

_Enemy bio: _Oja: As explained by Ben, the Oja are imp like demons that exist in the world. Considered the lowest class of demon, Oja have several types that can be spotted based on number of horns, color, length of the tail, and if they have wings or not. Some Oja have a tendency to act like a parasite and invade a human body, killing the human in the process and then controlling that body like a puppet.

More about the various types will be revealed in the future.


	3. Advent of the Fallen

Ben stood silently as the plane made contact on the tarmac. He had arrived only a few minutes before at the airport. Above him, dark storm clouds surged across the sky, threatening heavy rainfalls any minute now. Once he saw the plane come to a full stop, Ben wasted little time walking towards it.

The plane was a small private plane that was used by Paladin agents to get across the globe quickly. As the walk ramp automatically extended outwards and lowered to the ground, the main hatch on the plane opened and three figures could be seen walking onto the ramp and hastily make their way down.

"You're here earlier than I was expecting. Has something happened?" asked Ben, knowing they weren't suppose to arrive till late tomorrow afternoon.

The tall, middle aged man walked up to him and they shook hands. Once this exchange was done, he gives Ben a serious look and says "We'll talk on the go. Just lead us to the car and have the driver make haste back to St. Claire's."

Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Ben only nodded as turned and quickly led them to the awaiting transport. Just as the entered the car, the rains began to fall. After issuing the instructions to the driver, Ben sits back and awaits the explanation from his three fellow Paladin's.

**The Harbinger's**

**tome 3: Advent of the Fallen**

The car that sped through the streets of Salem was not your ordinary car. First was the fact that it was a little longer than the average four door. It still had the same front design as most cars, but the back seat was done up differnetly than most.

It was a little more stretched out like a limo with a slightly wider door that lifted up when opened on one side. The seat was one long U shaped starting from behind the driver and passenger seats, moving around to rest against the trunk compartment.

"OK, so what's going on here?" asked Ben as he leaned forward in his seat.

"We have a...situation now. Something far more dangerous than a simple Oja" said the mild aged man.

The man is question was named Vicenzo Mori. A 42 year old who had been with Paladin for almost twenty years now. A veteran of many battles, both known and unknown to the history books, he was a high ranking Paladin who always kept cool under pressure.

"Yeah, no shitting there, pops" said Rosa Guian. Rosa was a Hispanic girl, born in Portugal 22 years ago. However, those who didn't know her would swear she was only 17 or 18. She was highly skilled as a sniper, though her rather crude language usage was highly frowned upon by her superiors.

"Rosa, show some respect to you elders" joked David Carter. David was the same age as Ben and had joined Paladin a year after Ben had. Details about his past and how he joined the order was a closely guarded secret known only to the head of Paladin and Pope Luke himself. He and Ben were best friends.

Vic glared at them and said "Enough joking around, you two. This is serious."

"What kind of situation?" asked Ben, suppressing the grin he was feeling from this much missed banter.

"A Fallen, pure and simple" said Vic, his tone and look showing just how serious this was.

"A...Fallen...HERE?" said Ben, unable to believe this. "Are you sure?"

"No doubt about it. Our Seer's predicted it's coming, thus forcing our earlier arrival here. And as the plane was nearing Salem, we saw a Halo distortion occuring in the upper atmosphere. Not only has a Fallen come after the Prophet, but it may already be here, now, in Salem" said Vic.

"And even with four Paladin here, we may not be enough to handle this. After all, a Fallen is much more powerful and dangerous than any demon. And that's why you..." started David, but he stops to allow Ben to finish.

"And that's why I may have to use my "power" in this battle. But why didn't you just contact me ahead of time?" asked Ben.

"We tried, but we believe the Fallen or someone working with it is interfering with the signal. We couldn't get through to you" said Vic.

"Ben, I know you probably wanted to keep your power hidden from this Prophet girl" said David.

"Yeah, I did. But this can't be helped. She was going to find out sooner or later. Better it be now and get it over with. So, what's the plan?" asked Ben.

"Once we arrive at St. Claire's, you'll go get the girl and bring her to us. We will then take her out of Salem and away from any other people. Seeing as the Fallen will follow after her, this will allow us to insure we avoid any civilian causalities from the coming battle" said Vic.

During the conversation that had been going on, Rosa had remained quiet as she had her attention fixed on the scenery outside the window. As they turned a corner, her eyes fell onto a clock tower in the rain soaked distance. For just a moment, the view of the tower was obstructed by another building.

And once the tower appeared again, Rosa then saw something she had not seen there before. At the top of the tower was a shadowy figure. Despite the distance, she could somehow see the figure looking back at the car they were in, a small smile crossed his face as he raised his palm up before him, a small glow coming from the center of his palm.

'Oh shit' her minds screams as she turns towards the driver and shouts "Quick, evasive driving."

The others look at her in surprise as she adds "It's the Fall..." Her words are cut off as the car explodes violently.

From his perch on the tower's top, the Fallen lowers his hand, yet keeps his gaze lingering on the destroyed and burning car for a few moments more before looking away.

"Disappointing. I expected Paladin agents to be better prepared than that. Oh well, no matter. I didn't come here to play with them anyways. Now, time to pay a little visit to someone special" says the Fallen as he spreads his large, bat like wings and flies into the sky.

For just a few moments, the smoking debris from the car was all that seemed to be left of the five individuals in the car. Then, the flames and remains in the car blasted outwards as a dome of energy faded out, showing that they had survived...for the most part.

***cough cough*** "Is everyone OK?" asked Vic as he looked to the others.

They were all covered in grime and some blood and cuts, but each one was picking themselves up off the ground.

"Damn, that was to fucking close there" said Rosa as she dusted herself off.

"Good thing you saw that attack coming" said David. He then looks to Ben who had just finished returning to normal and added "Man, your timing is impeccable."

Ben gave him a sly smile and said "Comes from five years of practice. But that doesn't change the fact we were careless."

"Agreed. We should have seen this coming. How the driver?" asked Vic.

"He's beat up pretty bad, but he'll live" said Rosa as she checked him over.

"Alright then. Ben, I want you to go on ahead and protect the Prophet. We'll catch up as soon as we can" said Vic.

"But what about you guys?" asked Ben, concern evident in his voice.

"You know we're fine. But that explosion still affected us and we'll need a minute to recover and see if any equipment survived and can still be used. You, on the other hand, probable didn't even feel that explosion. And there's also the fact you can run faster than we can. So do your duty and get going" said Vic.

Ben nods and says "Alright, just don't be to long." Ben then gets to his feet and makes a dash towards St. Claire's through the heavy down pour. True to Vicenzo's words, Ben's could run fast as he already had disappeared from sight. By then, people had appeared from the various buildings, having heard the explosion, and had come to check on it's source. One woman asked if an ambulance should be called, earning a rather nasty verbal response from Rosa about it being obvious.

**{III}**

Beth stood at the counter of the academy's library, awaiting the slow as a snail librarian to finish stamping the card in the back of the book. When he had finally finished, he hesitantly handed the book back to her, giving a Beth a suspicious look as she takes it.

"You better return MY book in pristine condition or..." the old man started to say, but Beth cut him off.

"I know, I know. Or there will be hell to pay. Don't worry sir, I won't leave a blemish on it" said Beth, but not sounding sincere.

The librarian turned to go back to work, but he still kept one eye focused on her to make sure she didn't do anything inappropriate to his book. Beth sighed as she turned and walked towards the front door. The old man was nice and all, but it was obvious he loved books more than people. If it wasn't for the fact he had to let students borrow them for school work, he'd never let them be touched by anyone other than himself.

Just as she reaches to door, it burst open from the outside as Whitney comes running in, a soaked book held over her head.

"Man, it's really raining cats and dogs out there" said Whitney as she shook some excess water off her person.

"So I noticed before I came over here. That's why I brought my umbrella" said Beth as she reached over to the small rack next to the door and grabbed it.

"Why didn't I think of that?" says Whitney as she sighs. She hated it when she became scattered brained over stuff like this.

"Do you want me to wait for you? We can share mine till we get back to the dorms" offered Beth.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna be here a while. Maybe it will stop raining by the time I'm done" said Whitney.

"I doubt it. Weather man said this will continue into late night tonight" replied Beth.

"Oh shoot. Guess I'll just have to run back then. By the way, did you know Ben had to go out for a while?" asked Whitney.

"No, I didn't. Do you know why?" asked Beth.

"Not sure. I saw him leaving earlier so I thought you might know, seeing as you and him have gotten close over the last week" pointed out Whitney, giving Beth a knowing grin.

Beth blushes as she stays "We're just friends. Don't go turning into Eliza on me now. I better get going though. I need to read this book for that report in a few days. Later."

Whitney nods as she heads further into the library. Beth opens the door and heads out, opening her umbrella as she walks. But just before the door shuts, she can hear the old man scream, likely from both seeing his precious book water logged and Whitney tracking water inside.

Beth giggles as she begins walking back to the dorms. As she moves, she finds herself wondering about Ben and where it was he did go. That's when she feels it. The air around her suddenly becomes heavy and stagnant and her vision begins to dull a little.

'Oh no, what now?' she thinks as she looks around. She can see nothing to either side of her. She then turns around to look behind her, again seeing nothing. Beth breathes a sigh of relief as she turns back to continue her walk...and instead finds her eyes falling onto the exposed chest of a rather handsome looking man.

"Excuse me, girl. Do you know where I can find Bethany Whitetrain?" asked the man.

Beth took a moment to examine the figure before her. In her eyes, he was gorgeous. He was rather tall and muscular. He was dressed in black pants and an opened black shirt that were made of a kind of silk fabric. He had long slick, black hair that reached down to his back. His skin was tanned and his eyes were shining with gold iris's. Huh. Gold irises?

She took a step back, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "I asked you a question, girl?" he said again, his sexy voice now having a hint of danger behind it.

"I...I don't know" said Beth, her voice shaking from the sudden fear that had claimed her without warning.

"That's a lie. I think I have found her, have I not...Bethany?" asked the man.

"Who...who are you" she asked timidly, continuing to back away from the man.

"I am Zubriel. One of the Fallen. And I have come here for you" said Zubriel as black, bat like wings appeared from thin air, fully spread for Beth to see.

Beth did the only thing she could do she turned around and made a run for it. Or at least, that was the plan, except he had appeared right before her. Beth looked back and saw he had indeed moved. She wanted to scream for help, but her voice escaped her as Zubriel reached out and took hold of her arm.

"No games, little girl. You and me are leaving" said the Fallen as he prepared to take Beth and leave.

Just as suddenly as his hand had grabbed her, it released her as the sound of gun fire caught Beth's attention. She turned her head just enough to see Ben running towards her through the rain as he continued to fire shot after shot.

Zubriel was knocked back, his body riddled with bullet holes as he fell back onto the ground. "Ben, what's..." Beth started to ask, but she was cut off as Ben grabbed her arm forcibly and made her join him in running back towards the gate. The book she had just gotten from the library fell onto the rain soaked ground as the moved.

"No time, just focus on running" he said through heaving breathing.

Beth didn't say anything else, choosing instead to simply nod as she did as asked and focused on running as fast as possible. With in minutes, they had arrived at the slightly opened main gate and Ben wasted no time in rushing her through it.

They started to race down the street, but they came to a sudden stop just a little over a block away. Ben's eyes remained focused on the road before him as Beth looked around frantically, wondering why they had stopped.

"Ben, why did you..."Beth started to ask, but was cut off when Ben said...

"He's already here."

At that moment, Ben spun around and threw himself onto Beth, sending both of them falling back onto the ground as the very spot they had been standing upon was lit up by Zubriel's energy attack. Once he was sure it was safe, Ben got to his feet and helped Beth both get up,then motioned for her to get behind him as he turned to face the Fallen. Beth did as he motioned her to do with out complaint.

"My, that was impressive for a descendent of monkey's. But I wonder how you survived my earlier attack on your transport?" asked Zubriel, showing no sign of injury from Ben's previous gun shots.

"Maybe you need to work on your aim" replied Ben, though his tone was far from humorous.

"Maybe you are right. Shall I use you as practice?" asked Zubriel as he raised a glowing hand at Ben, who readied to fire both of his Redeemer Sentries (high powered military grade hand gun).

"Ben, what is that? I thought...I thought you killed him" said Beth, her voice shaking from the fear she was feeling.

Zubriel cocked an eye brow as he asked "What, have you not told her about all this yet?"

"Haven't had the time to explain EVERYTHING to her. After all, that Oja was enough of a rude wake up call for Beth. She needed time to understand just that alone" said Ben.

"Oja? I see, so he must also be after the girl" said Zubriel.

"Huh, you mean you didn't send that nasty little imp? Then do you know who did?" asked Ben.

"I think you should tell this girl about me first, or should I tell her? After all, she should know about these things" said Zubriel.

"And you're just gonna stand there and wait while I tell her? That's mighty generous of you" said Ben.

"I have some time to kill. Besides, these autumn rain storms...actually feel good on my wings" was Zubriel's reply as he spread said wings out as widely as he could.

Ben just shook his head and sighed as he turned slightly to look at Beth.

"This guy here isn't so much a guy, let alone a human. He's what we call a Fallen" said Ben.

"Fallen? Are they some kind of demon clan?" asked Beth, not missing the disgusted grunt that Zubriel made when she had asked that question.

Ben shakes his head and says "No, he's no demon. A Fallen is an Angel who...well, was cast out of Heaven, fallen from grace if you will. At one time, he was a Providence; which is the term used to identify the Angels that loyally serve God. But then, that incident occurred and everything changed."

"Incident?" asked Beth, wondering if that Paradise Lost book she had read once was actually based on truth and not fiction.

Before Ben could reply, Zubriel spoke up and said "I'll tell her this part, seeing as I would know it better that you. God had decreed that Providence were never to interfere with the lives of Humans unless instructed to. But, some of the Providence, myself included, broke that creed for our own personal interest."

"Such as?" asked Beth.

"We found ourselves attracted to the daughters of man and we came down to Earth and...well, as the book you call the Bible would say, KNEW THEM. And that created a little problem" said Zubriel.

"He means their actions gave birth the the half race called Nephilim. And it was because of this that the Great Flood had to be done" said Ben, knowing Beth was gonna ask.

"And because of our lust for the daughter's of men, God planned on punishing us once he had finished dealing with the Nephilim, who were killing man kind in anger over their half existence. And it was during that time that he stepped up to lead us" said Zubriel.

"He?"asked Beth, thinking that the Fallen was talking about Lucifer.

"He was a Providence of Seraph ranking. He hated how God was planning on punishing us who had defied his law. What's more, he hated humans and how God showed such favor to your kind while not giving us, his first creations, the same treatment. So, he took matters into his own hands and brought us all together for war" said Zubriel.

Beth stood there speechless as he continued. "For a long time, the Heavenly realm was beset with war as Providence battle Providence, the loyal vs the new regime. And in the end, the loyal won which wasn't surprising. We were fools to think we could challenge and defeat the creator" said Zubriel.

"Then what?" asked Beth, momentarily forgetting the fact she was in danger,

"God punished us, obviously. Those who had committed lesser sins were punished by being made to be reborn as human. Those who had sinned greatly were forever cast from heaven, never again to return. And we were also exiled to Hell, though we have found ways to come here to your plane of existence" said Zubriel.

"And what about your leader?" asked Beth.

"He had committed two sins that were truly unforgivable. One, he had been the one to first turn against God and start the war. And the second was opening the Gates of Hell in such a way that would allow the Demons sealed there to escape and torment humanity. His punishment equaled his sins."

"What happened to him?" asked Beth.

"I think that's enough talking about the past. Let's focus on the future now. So Paladin, are you gonna fight me for her and die?" asked Zubriel.

Ben's response was to aim his guns at him and readied them to fire. "So be it" said Zubriel as he raised a hand into the air, a sword of black flames appearing that he grasped hold of before bringing it to the ready.

Ben turns his head just slightly at Beth and says "Listen, the moment I go at the Fallen, I want you to turn and run as fast as you can towards Gracie's Place. You will find my fellow Paladin's along the way. They will protect you now."

"But, what about you?" asked Beth, her voice fear filled and pleading for him to come with her.

Ben smiles and says "Remember what I said, I will protect you. Now...GO!" shouts Ben as he turns back to looking as the Fallen and rushes him, guns blasting furiously at Zubriel.

Beth wanted to stay, wanted to help Ben as he had helped her. But she was no fool. She knew she would only be a burden on him. So she did as he had told her. She turned around quickly, running faster than she ever had before.

As she moved further and further away, the sounds of the fighting grew smaller as gun shots and flame sword cutting through the air became less obvious than the sound of the rain. Just as she was about to round the corner to continue on, she heard a scream. Ben's scream of pain.

'Ben!' she thinks as she looks back, shaking in fear as she did so.

Her eyes grew wide with horror as she was able to see what had happened. Ben's body was being held aloft over Zubriel, the flaming sword piercing through his stomach and out his back. His guns fell from his now limp grasp and clattered against the concrete surface of the road. Blood was pooling from the wound onto the ground. And his eyes were wide and distant.

And it was obvious, even from the distance between her and them, that Ben was dead. Tears started to stream down as she shook her head back and forth in disbelief. 'No, no, no,-no, no, no,no, no. He can't be...Ben can't be dead. He just can't be' she though over and over again.

Zubriel looked at her and smiled as he said "That was even easier than I thought."

Beth clutched her head with both hands as she screamed into the storm.

"BBBBEEEENNNN!"

**{II}**

_next time:_

_A desperate run_

_a futile resistance_

_the face of Death_

_next _**The Harbinger's**

**tome 4: 4****th**** of Four**

_Don't be afraid, Beth_

_Character bio: _Eliza Teal

_age:_ 16

_height: _5'4

_weight: _115 pounds

_hair: _Brown (sometimes done up as an Afro, sometimes let down

_ethnicity: _African American

Eliza is a fun loving, party girl who loves eating sweats. This has made her a little bit on the plump side, but she is still considered hot by many of the guys do to her having well developed breast. When not in her school uniform, Eliza likes to wear clothes to draw the attention of the guys to her. Carlos once joked she likely had a future in the porn industry which led to a kick in the crotch by Eliza.

She loves hanging out with her friends, but hates dealing with anything stressful.

_Weapon bio: _Redeemer Sentries

A more powerful version of the standard Redeemer that resembles a military grade 9mm hand gun. Capable of firing fast, accurate rounds at it's targets, it is a good choice for dealing with high level opponents. The ammo it uses has an added impact burst effect (meaning the bullets explode on impact) and the gun themselves can hold two ammo clips, allowing twice the shooting time than normal.

_Enemy class bio: _Fallen

As explained in the main story, a Fallen was once an angelic being; a Providence. But, when they turned against God, they were punished when the war was lost. There are two types of Fallen; the lessened and the exiled.

Lessened were simply stripped of their angelic powers and status, made into a normal human spirit, and has the capacity to return to Heaven in death for a brief time, though being in the reincarnation cycle is mandatory for them.

The Exiled, on the other hand, were cast into Hell as their new home. But because the gates of Hell had been forcibly opened, they can still come to affect the human world. But, if they do this, then their appearances (which all angelic beings obsess over) will start to diminish, making them more demon like for ever act of interference they enact on the human plane.

As for the leader of the rebellion, his identity and final fate are unknown at this time, though Beth thinks that this is where the story of Lucifer comes in (from her reading of Paradise Lost and the fact everyone seems to think it's biblical fact instead of just being a story).


	4. 4th of the Four

_Her eyes grew wide with horror as she was able to see what had happened. Ben's body was being held aloft over Zubriel, the flaming sword piercing through his stomach and out his back. His guns fell from his now limp grasp and clattered against the concrete surface of the road. Blood was pooling from the wound onto the ground. And his eyes were wide and distant._

_And it was obvious, even from the distance between her and them, that Ben was dead. Tears started to stream down as she shook her head back and forth in disbelief. 'No, no, no,-no, no, no,no, no. He can't be...Ben can't be dead. He just can't be' she though over and over again._

_Zubriel looked at her and smiled as he said "That was even easier than I thought."_

_Beth clutched her head with both hands as she screamed into the storm._

_"BBBBEEEENNNN!" _

Zubriel looked at Beth with his cold eyes and smiled at her. He then made a small motion with his blade before swing around his body hard. Ben's limp body went sailing clear off, moving high and far across the sky over what felt like an impossible distance. His body quickly faded from Beth's sight as she stood there frozen.

Zubriel, on the other hand, seemed to still be watching it as his head stayed tilted up for another moment before it lowered just a little. He then turned back at Beth and smiled, saying "That was a really good distance his body made. It actually landed back inside the walls of that school of yours."

As Zubriel began walking towards her, Beth just stood there, unable to will her body to run away. 'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Ben...this guy...killed him. There's no way I can...'

_BETH, RUN_

The sudden voice in her head seems to unfreeze her body and she finds herself turning around and running as fast as she could. 'Ben...was that you?' she thinks about the voice in her head.

Zubriel stops and chuckles just a little. "As if running is really an option with me after you. Oh well, I'll let her tire herself out for a bit before I take her. It's not every day I get to have this much fun" he says before laughing, continuing to follow her with out breaking his stride.

**The Harbinger's**

**tome 4: 4th of Four**

As Beth ran down the empty streets towards Gracie's Place, as Ben instructed her to do, she realized just how quiet and empty the town was. Shouldn't there be more people out and about right now? Maybe that Fallen had done something. She wasn't sure, but she knew she had to keep moving.

After turning two more corners, she found herself on a long stretch of road. Just four more blocks, then another turn followed by another three blocks would see her arriving at Gracie's Place and hopefully, find Ben's friends from the Vatican.

However, just as she mad it half way through the second block, the air around her suddenly became thick and heavy, forcing her to stop and fall to her knees, breathing hard. She managed to look over her shoulders and saw Zubriel standing at her last turn point, slowly walking towards her.

As he approached, she said allowed "I'm sorry about that little release of my power there, but I can't let you get to far ahead of me. And besides, as much as I'm enjoying this little chase, we really must be leaving soon. After all, the one who sent me claims to not be very patient."

Zubriel finally fished walking up to her, looking down at her smaller form. Just being this close to him made her shake in fear. He extended a hand to her and said "Now, come with me. If you do, then maybe what's to come won't be so bad for you."

But, just as his hand was about to touch her shoulder, Zubriel's head jerked to his right, just in time to see the incoming sniper shot hit him dead center between the eyes. Zubriel's whole body jerked violently as it was thrown back away from Beth by several feet.

"Huh? What just...?" asked Beth, fear giving way to confusion.

She then jumps as she feels a hand touch her shoulder. Looking back quickly, she sees a boy wearing a similar garment that Ben had on before looking at her.

"Hurry, you need to get up so we can run. That last attack won't kill a Fallen so easily" said the boy as he grabbed Beth's hand and forced her back to her feet.

"Who are you?" asked Beth.

"Names David. I'm a friend of Ben's and a fellow Paladin. Are you OK?" asked David.

"Ye...yes, I'm fine. But Ben..." Beth starts to say, but is cut off by the sound of Zubriel groaning.

"Damn, its been a long time since I was hit that hard" said the Fallen as he slowly returned to his feet, the hole in his head slowly closing up as he stands again.

"Damn, and here I thought that might have killed you" says an annoyed David.

"Sorry kid, I have survived the Angelic Wars. So there is nothing your kind could do to kill me. Though that attack just now did hurt like hell. Tell me, what was it?" asked Zubriel.

Suddenly, another shot from the sniper is fired, but Zubriel sees it coming soon enough to raise a hand and block it, though the attempt does leave a slight burn in the palm of his hand. As he looks at the burn with some curiosity, another figure emerges through the rain.

"David, get the girl out of here. I'll deal with him" said Vicenzo as he reaches into his long coat and pulls out a silver and colored colored cylinder that resembles a sword hilt.

Nodding at the order, David says "Come on and try to keep up" to Beth as he turns and runs as fast as he can move while keeping a hold on his hand.

Vic looks to his right and sees Rosa stand from her sniper position and follows them from the roof tops before turning his attention back to the Fallen.

"I must say, you Paladin sure have some interesting toys. Mind telling me what I was shot with and what it is your holding?" asked Zubriel.

"Redeemer LSC Gospel. It draws in high amounts of spirit energy from the atmosphere and turns it into a deadly, high speed and powered bullet. Even your kind can be hurt with it" said Vic.

Zubriel nods, but then says "To bad the draw back is recharge time between shots, huh? If you could fire a rapid volley, then even I might be in danger. And, that little piece of metal in your hands?"

Vicenzo answers his question by placing both hands on it, then focusing his thoughts to make the device activate. From the tip of the cylinder, a gold colored blade of about two feet in length appears.

"Sacrament; high frequency spirit blade that draws in spirit particles much like the Gospel to create a blade. The stronger the particles in the area, stronger the blade. And Salem has some very high level particles" says Vic as he brings his sword out and readies it to fight.

Zubriel forms his black flame blade into his hands again, then says "Impressive. But, I wonder who's swordsman ship skills will be the better? Yours or mine?" And with that, both opponents charge at one another, their blades striking fast and hard as their battle begins.

(St. Claire's)

"Why didn't I take Beth up on her offer?" Whitney asked herself as she ran across the grounds.

It had taken her a few minutes to get out of the library seeing as that old man kept chewing her out about getting one of his books wet. He had been so annoyed by this, that he had refused to let her check anymore books out. So Whitney had made a hasty retreat, knowing that if she waited a few days, he'd likely change his mind. Maybe.

As she approached the dorms, her eyes fell onto a figure laying on the ground. As she came to a stop, she noticed a stream of red water coming from the figure, flowing into a storm drain. She wasn't sure why, but something seemed familiar about this person and she approached the person slowly.

"Um, hello? Are you OK?" she asked as she finally reached the person.

She could tell it was a boy as as she leaned down to check him, she finally saw the rip in the back of his shirt and the deep opening in the skin. She slowly reached out with trembling fingers and touched the boy's body. As she made contact with his skin, a weird pulse went through her body.

'What the...what was that?' she asked herself mentally. In her mind, it had felt like seeing someone toss a rock into a pond and ripples being created upon the waters surface.

She then pulled on the body, turning it so she could see his face and when it came into view, Whitney let go quickly, jumping back to her feet and taking several steps back as her right hand cupped her mouth and her eyes went wide with shock..

"Ben...? Oh my god" she said in disbelief. Ben's lifeless face stared vacantly into the sky as Whitney's mind tried to process this. Then, she screamed as loudly as she could while turning and running towards the girls dorm yelling for Ms. Hobbin's to get out here.

As she disappeared into the dorm, a finger on Ben's body twitched ever so slightly as a weird greenish glow began to fill his eyes.

(Vicenzo)

The Sacrament and Hell Fire blades clashed against one another as Paladin and Fallen battled one another. Zubriel had to admit, his opponent was good. Very good.

"Well, at least you're a better fighter than that boy from earlier" said Zubriel as he parried a swipe to his face.

"I've been a Paladin for over twenty years. To survive that long is a miracle for many of us" said Vic as he jumped back from a swing at his gut, then sent the blade swinging in wide at Zubriel's shoulder.

They continued back and forth for several more moments, then Vic saw an opening he couldn't afford to miss. He knew that a Fallen needed their wings to gather spiritual energy to survive upon seeing as they had lost their connection to the source when they had lost the status of the Providence.

Releasing one hand from holding the Sacrament and grabbing his Redeemer revolver from it's holster, he aims it at Zubriel's chest and opens fire before he can react. As the Fallen stumbles back, he lets go of his gun and grips his blade with both hands as he rushes in and thrust the sword forward at one of his wings.

The blade made contact, but it did nothing to the Fallen's wing what so ever. "Wha..." says Vic before he feels a stabbing pain in his sides. He looks down to see the Hell Flame blade cutting into his waist, just barely avoiding be a fatal injury.

As Vic slumps forward against Zubriel, his Sacrament slipping from his hand, he looks up and ask "How?"

"Your plan was sound, human. Going for my wings was a genius move on your part. But, what you failed to realize is that your Sacrament's power is more than just spiritual energy from an outside source. You must also use the power of your soul to further empower it. You failed to do this and that will cost you dearly" said Zubriel as he placed a finger against a spot between Vicenzo's chest and shoulder.

"Omni-ga" says Zubriel as a beam of pure white light shoots from the finger, hitting Vicenzo, and sending him flying back hard, screaming in pain as he moves.

The older Paladin's body crashes through the window of a house with a for sale sign outside of it. Zubriel keeps his eyes locked on the house for several seconds before turning away. He had held back quite a bit of the full power Omni-ga, but it was still enough to kill a human if they were unlucky.

"If you survive that one Paladin, then know I spared your life on a whim. If not, then never mind" says Zubriel as he goes to continue his mission, only stopping long enough to pick up the Sacrament.

"This little toy could be useful" he says before disappearing into the rain.

**{IV}**

As David and Beth ran down the street with Rosa jumping along the roof tops, Beth took a moment to watch her, then looked back at David and asked "How is she doing that?"

David smiles as he says "Who, Rosa? Well, she's always been very athletic in her abilities. And from what I hear, she was enhanced in some way to make her even more capable combatant. And her skill as a sniper is among the best in Paladin. Now, what were you trying to say about Ben?"

Beth hesitated, not sure how to tell him this. She felt a tear slide down her cheek, the sorrow at feeling it was all her fault filling her mind and heart as she said "He's dead. That...that Fallen killed him while he was protecting me."

"Oh" was David's reply.

Beth's turned quickly to look at his. The way he had said that sounded like it was nothing special or important. Almost like he didn't care all that much.

"Oh? Is that all you can say, oh? What the hell's wrong with you? He died saving me and all you can say to me is "oh?" I thought he was your friend?" shouts Beth, her anger having momentarily replaced the fear in her mind.

"Sorry" said David, looking down. "I...this isn't the time or the place for me to be feeling anything about this. Ben...died to protect you and you're still in danger. Once I know you're safe, then I can grieve."

Beth now felt bad about what she had just said. Of course he must be hurting by this. But, as he said, he had a duty to protect her from that Fallen and if he failed, then Ben would have died for nothing. They made another turn and entered into a small park, though still staying close enough for Rosa to spot them.

"No, I'm sorry. I..." Beth starts to say, but is cut off by the sound piercing through the sound of rain.

Both David and Beth come to a quick stop as Vicenzo's Sacrament comes sailing out of the sky with it's blade active, embedding itself into the ground before them. David quickly has Beth get behind him as he starts looking every which direction, looking for Zubriel.

"Is he here? Where's that other guy?" asked Beth, the fear having returned to her voice.

"I don't know" said David before bringing a hand up to the small device around his ear and presses a button on it. "Rosa, can you see anything from your vantage point?"

"I'm looking, but this shitty weather isn't helping my field of vision any. No are any of these damn trees" complained Rosa as she used one eye to scan around the area while the other stayed looking through the scope should she need to fire quickly.

'Damn, were is this guy?' she mentally complains till she feels something approach her from behind.

Taking a deep breath, she spins around quickly, firing a shot at the moment she completes her turn. Zubriel easily dodges the attack and swats the Gospel from her hands before she can fire another round. Rosa attempts to grab a Redeemer from around her waist, but her hands falter as Zubriel grabs her by the neck and lifts her into the air.

"Mother...fucker, let me go" she gets out through her throat being crushed as David's voice is heard yelling through the Blu-tooth headset.

"Gladly" says Zubriel as he swings back, then forward, letting go of Rosa who screams as she's sent flying towards the ground.

"ROSA" shouts David as he rushes towards her, just barely catching her before she hits the ground.

"Hey, you OK?" asked David as he cradles her against him.

"I'm in your arms, aren't I?" asked Rosa, grinning a little.

David blushes, then says "Now's not the time for..."

He doesn't finish as Zubriel appears before them, a wing drawn in around his chest. Both David and Rosa swear a rather nasty word as Zubriel send the wing swinging outwards, hitting them both hard and sending them slamming into a tree.

Beth watches as they both slump to the ground, unconscious, then back at Zubriel who begins to advance towards her.

'Oh no, what I am gonna do?' thinks Beth as she starts to back away, knowing that running was useless.

(St. Claire's)

"He's over here" says a panicked Whitney as she and Ms. Hobbin's come running out from the dorm room. But, as they arrive at the spot Ben's body had been, they both stop when they seeing nothing at all.

"Where is he? Ben, he was right here" says Whitney, even more panicked than before.

"I don't see a body. Are you sure that you just didn't get confused by lightning and thunder?" asked Hobbin's.

"NO" shouts Whitney as she turns to look at the older woman. "He was right here, I'm telling you. There was a deep gash in his chest, going right through him. And he was bleeding to. He was...he was..." said Whitney, but stopping when Hobbin's placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Tell you what, I'll go over to the boys dorm and see if he's there or if anyone else found him here. You just go back to your room and I'll come tell you what I find when I get back, alright?" said Hobbin's.

Whitney wanted to say no, that she wanted to go to. But the look Hobbin's was giving her was more than enough to tell her that she was not going to change her mind. So, Whitney simply nodded and turned back and returned to the dorms.

Once Whitney had reentered the dorms, Hobbin's turned back and leaned down onto the ground and placed her hand onto the ground where Ben's body had been. She then stands up again and pulls out her cell phone, auto-dialing a number in her contacts.

"Father Cunningham, we may have a situation involving the Paladin. And also, Ben's power has likely been triggered."

(Vicenzo)

Consciousness slowly returned to Vic as he opened his eyes. Through his blurry vision, he sees a figure standing over him for a second and he hears "You'll be fine now, captain", though a bit distorted through his ears before the figure turns and walks away.

As Vic finds more of reality returning to him, he groans from the discomfort along his chest and shoulder as he thinks 'I really need to retire. I'm getting to old for this shit, as Rosa would say it.'

Finally back to full reality, Vicenzo gets back onto his unsteady feet and begins to move, albeit slowly, towards his team to rejoin them.

(Beth)

As Beth kept stepping back till she came into contact with a tree. She tried to move around it, but Zubriel came upon her quickly, planting an arm against the tree right next to her face.

"So, ready to come with me yet?" asked Zubriel, failing to notice the figure behind him grabbing Vicenzo's Sacrament and running at him.

It wasn't until the figure was upon him that Zubriel here's the approaching person and spins around, only to get slashed across his chest. Zubriel jumps back, his Hell Blade forming into hand as he just barely countered another blow from Ben.

"What? You're still alive?" said Zubriel in shock. Never had anyone human he had ran through with his sword actually survived to tell the tale. As they went back and forth, Zubriel sent his blade swing in close and hitting Ben above his right elbow.

But Ben pulls away before he can be cut and stabs the Sacrament into Zubriel's stomach, causing the Fallen to stumble back, making space to allow himself to recover. Luckily, Ben didn't continue his attack, but move back to Beth's side.

"Ben...is it really you? I...I thought..." Beth started to say, feeling both relief and great joy at seeing him, but Ben cuts her off and says"Beth, I want you to get behind this tree and stay there. Understood?"

"Huh? But what about him?" asked Beth.

"He won't hurt you again. I'm gonna finish this fight now" said Ben, no doubt present in his voice.

As Beth nods and does as Ben instructed, Zubriel scoffs as his wound finishes healing and then says "Considering how easily I defeated you last time, I think you're over estimating yourself. But tell me, how did you survive anyways?"

Ben doesn't reply at first, instead looking back and seeing Beth peaking out from behind the tree, her eyes focused on him. "Beth, I'm about to do something that I never wanted you to know about. But, know that I am your friend and I will protect you."

Beth wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but Ben had already turned back to looking at Zubriel and say "You really want to know, do you? Fine, here's your answer."

Ben drops the Sacrament onto the ground and bring his left hand up to his face, his index and middle fingers outstretched over to cover his eyes. As both Beth and Zubriel watch from their respective spots, both could feel the air becoming heavier and colder quickly.

"It begins...with the eyes" says Ben as he moves his fingers off his face, sparks of energy being created as he did so. And then, it began. His eyes close as his skin starts to turn bone white, crawling from his eyes and moving across the rest of his body.

He pulls the damaged right sleeve of his jacket off, revealing his arm up to just above the elbow. As his skin finishes turning white, his right arm from just below the elbow to his finger tips goes from white to pitch black in color. As the change finishes, Ben opens his eyes, revealing that they have changed color. The eyeball was a pale green color and his irises a deep, glowing crimson.

As Beth looks at him like this, she feels herself becoming afraid, deathly afraid for some reason as Ben holds his pitch black colored right arm out before him, the pitch black melting forward and forming into a sphere held before his open hand. Once it has finished forming into a sphere, it shifts shapes again, this time taking on the form of a scythe that he then brings into being ready to fight with.

With out realizing it, Zubriel takes a few steps back as his instincts tell him to run. At his very core, he knew now what he was facing. "Paladin, are you...it can't be?"

"**I am" **said Ben, his voice deeper and more gravely than before.

'I...I know this" thinks Beth as her mind remembers her dreams of the Four. But this time, her mind shoots in to a close up of the fourth rider who now looks very familiar to her. Then, remembering what Ben told her after the incident with the Oja, she says "Ben...are you...?"

"A Harbinger; a Horseman of the Apocalypse" finished Zubriel, his voice filled with both awe and fear.

"**I am the Death"** said Ben before turning back to look at Beth. Seeing him look at her causes Beth to shake slightly, pulling away as if to make some distance from Ben with out realizing it. Ben notices this and looks down for a second, then he turns back to looking at Zubriel, then says.

"**I'm sorry. You must be really scared right now, seeing me looking like this. But, like I said before, don't worry. I will protect you, Beth. I'll end this quickly"** says Ben before launching himself at Zubriel, his scythe raised to strike his foe.

'Ben' thinks Beth as she watches this, not sure how she should be feeling now.

Zubriel brings his blade out before him and striking it against the scythe, but finds his attack easily knocked back at him. As he moves back, Ben keeps on the pressure, swing his weapon with brutal speed and power at the Fallen.

It was truly now that Zubriel fully understood the power of the Harbinger's. Not only did he understand how his fatal attack to Ben from earlier failed, but also how the other Paladin had survived. Ben had obviously used his power to protect them.

And the stories he had heard about the Harbinger's was indeed. Among both the Angels and the Demons, the Harbinger's with equally feared by both as the four swords of God. Forces of nature forged by the hand of God to fulfill a specific role and defeating them was next to impossible.

And worse yet was the fact this Harbinger wasn't even fully awakened yet as the 4th Seal of the Seven that ruled over him had yet to be broken. And if this Horseman was this strong while in this weakened state, then he never wanted to face a fully realized one.

Realizing this battle was next to lost for him, Zubriel decided to try one final attack. Recalling his weapon, he fires off an Omni-ga at Ben, who swiftly dodged under the attack, and swinging his scythe in low as he rose back up, the blade of the scythe giving off a faint glow as he then swung it up into Zubriel's face.

"**Mido Banshin"** says Ben as the scythe makes contact with Zubriel. The attack unleashes a green energy wave that sends Zubriel skyward. As the Fallen stops his movement while still in mid air, he decides to swoop in and grab Beth while he still could and escape. But, it was already to late.

Looking down at the ground, he sees Ben has recalled his scythe into its pitch black mass on his right arm which his held out before him, a dark glow forming at the center of his open hand.

"No, it can't be?" said Zubriel, shocked at knowing a Harbinger could use THAT.

"**It's over Fallen. Omnega!"** shouts Ben as a beam of black energy, the exact opposite of Zubriel's Omni-ga shoots forth, slamming into Zubriel, who screams in pain as he's sent rocketing further into the sky and disappearing from sight.

Ben keeps his eyes focused on the spot where he saw the Fallen vanish for a few more moment's before turning his attention back to Beth. She had come out from behind the tree, but she had not moved any closer to him. He then turned his attention to David and Rosa, seeing them coming around and getting back to their feet. And then, he turns one last time to look at Vicenzo as he walked up to the younger man.

"Did you get him?" asked Vicenzo.

"**He's not dead, if that's what you're asking. But it will be a** while before we see him again" replied Ben as she shifted back to normal.

Vic nods, then looks over to Beth as the other two Paladin walk over to her to see if she's alright. He then looks back to Ben and asked "She saw all this, didn't she? How did she take it?"

"Just like I thought she would. Captain, I can't detect any other threats right now. So, with your permission, I shall report back to Father Cunningham and report on what happened here and make the necessary plans with him" said Ben.

Vicenzo doesn't respond with words, but nods his OK for Ben to leave. As Ben walks off, Vic turns back to study Beth's face and reactions. As David and Rosa come up to her, Beth struggles to speak up, but the fear from seeing Ben like that linger with in her. He had saved her, protected her, and yet she couldn't even say thank you for that.

Just as his form starts to disappear through the rain, she's finally able to say his name aloud, but it was to late for Ben had already passed earshot and faded into the rain.

**{IV}**

_The girl's guilt_

_The boy's story_

_The fated day_

_next: _**The Harbinger's**

**tome 5: Ben's Story pt.1**

_What's wrong with you?_

_Character bio:_

Whitney Candle:

age: 15

height: 4'9

weight: 99lbs

hair: blonde

Whitney, though she may not look it, is a fifteen year old girl who attends St. Claire's academy with her friends Bethany and Eliza. As many have pointed out, she appears to be around ten or eleven do to her small size and flat chest. Her hair is usually worn in either a pony tail or pig tails, depending on her mood in the morning.

She is very kind hearted and a bit of a worry wart who likes to draw and day dream. She's very interested in Ben, though she doesn't speak of it aloud. Besides feeling drawn to him for some unknown reason, she seems to be present to see some of Ben's more interesting moments and they both discovered (Whitney first, then Ben later) that skin to skin contact between them causes a weird ripple like pulse to pass through their bodies. If this means anything or not is currently unknown right now.

_Weapons bio:_

Redeemer LSC Gospel: The LSC in the title stands for long-range sniper channeler. This high powered sniper rifle draws in high amounts of spiritual energy, forming it into an energy bullet that can pierce even the strongest of defense, so long as there is ample spirit energy present in the air. There is a period of 7.8 seconds that one must wait between each shot, but its effectiveness in battle is unparalleled.

Sacrament: At first glance, this weapon looks like a light saber from the Star Wars movies (depending on the design, that is), this blade device also draws in spiritual energy to form a high density blade capable of cutting through solid steel in one swing. The draw back is, like with the Gospel, that if their isn't strong spirit energy present in the air, then the weapon is useless. Also, a human factor is also needed to make the weapon strong as stated by Zubriel.

_Spirit attacks:_

Omni-ga: A holy attack energy in the form of a high speed beam. Commonly used by the Angel's races known as the Providence and the Fallen. However, the Fallen can only use this attack at half its full power due to their connection to God having been severed do to their betrayals.

Omnega: A reverse variation of the Omni-ga, the Omnega is an attack of negative darkness, commonly used by the higher ranking Demon races. A Fallen can also use an Omnega, but only if they allow themselves to start taking on a more demonic change to their bodies, something most are unwilling to do.

_Horseman info:_

EnGreiver: The name of Ben's scythe weapon that grows from the pitch black shroud that covers his right hand and arm up to just below the elbow. Much about it is unknown, but the weapon is said to be feared by Demons greatly. The attack used by EnGreiver; the Mido Banshin unleashes a pale green colored wave of spiraling energy. More will be revealed on its abilities in time.


End file.
